The Dragonberry Chronicles
by dragonliege242
Summary: After nearly being killed by a fallen angel, Ichigo is saved by a strange girl at the cost of his humanity. What mayhem awaits him this time around? Overpowered Ichigo. IchigoxRiasxHarem
1. Life 0: My life changes again

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or High School DxD.

This is an idea that popped into my head when I read Bleach DxD by p17oyDONju9n. Read it, it's a good story, although I have to say, he (she?) overpowers the DxD characters quite a fair bit. Rias is strong and all, but I don't think she's strong enough to match an experienced captain. So here are the general power levels for me.

Unseated Shinigami - Average low-class Devil

20th to 5th seat (except Yumichika) – Above Average Low-class Devil to Average Mid-class Devil

4th seat to Lieutenant with no Bankai (Rukia after time skip)– Above Average Mid-class Devil to Average High-class Devil

Renji in Bankai before time skip – Above Average High-class Devil (Rias is at this level.) – Orihime after time skip, Chad after time skip, Uryu after time skip

Renji with Bankai after time skip – Below Average Ultimate-class Devil

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Sajin Komamura, Soifon – Average Ultimate-class Devil – Letzt Stil Uryu

Kenpachi, Byakuya, Toshiro, Shinji, Kensei, Rose, Urahara, Yoruichi, Love, Tessai, post time skip Ichigo – Above Average Ultimate-class Devil (Tannin, Maou Servants) - Ryuken

Kyoraku, Ukitake, Unohana, Isshin, Ichigo after time skip in Bankai and with Hollow mask – Maou level (Diehauzer, Grayfia, Serafall, Falbium, non-serious Ajuka, non-serious Sirzechs, Original Maou)

Yamamoto in Shikai, Aizen – Elder Gods (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Odin, Thor, Loki, Indra, God of Bible) – Balthasar (Vandereich Leader)

Yamamoto in Bankai, Hogyoku Aizen – Super Devil level (serious Ajuka, Human-shaped Power of Destruction Sirzechs, Vali in Emperio Juggernaut Overdrive) – Heavenly Dragons

Mugetsu Ichigo

Divine Dragons

Also, I'll be taking a few liberties with the future events in Bleach. The Quincy War ended with no main character casualties, meaning Byakuya survived, though he, Toshiro, Soifon, Komamura and Kenpachi are in recuperation after getting their asses kicked by their opponents. Seriously Kenpachi, that bloodlust of yours will get you killed one day. Yamamoto managed to kill Vandereich Leader with Ichigo's help. The rest of the Vandereich are either killed or imprisoned. Next, Ichigo still has his hollow powers. Ichigo also recovered his Fullbring after killing Ginjo. It will be called Blade of Bonds. Isshin was originally part of the Royal Guard, but was discharged after using Mugetsu and subsequently losing his powers, about 40 years before start of Bleach canon.

Ichigo will be in his body most of the time, and even after getting turned into a devil, his spiritual form is still superior to his body, so his power level will be two levels lower than stated above. Of course, he will still get stronger.

Well, all that aside, let the story begin.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

My name is Kurosaki Ichigo, 17, 2nd year in highschool. My grades rank in the top 20. Usually. I get into a lot of fights because of my orange hair, which for the record, is natural. Really, I got it from my late mom. Also, my name DOES NOT mean strawberry. It means One Guardian. Check the kanji. I'm attending Karakura High School. I'm leading a perfectly average life, if you don't count my duties as a guardian of the afterlife. Yeah you heard me right. I'm a Shinigami, one of those who govern the flow of souls between the mortal realm and the afterlife. Of course, not much has been happening, aside from the occasional Hollow, so I'm pretty much just an average high school enjoying my youth.

Then, something happened while I was walking home from school. It wasn't a Hollow, no, it was something far worse.

"M-My name is Amano Yuuma! P-Please go out with me!"

It was a confession from a girl. Now while most boys my age would be elated (*Cough* Keigo! *Cough*), I didn't even know how to react.

"You sure you're talking about the right person? I don't exactly have a good reputation, you know?" I confirmed with her. It would be pretty bad if she had mistaken me for someone else.

"Kurosaki Ichigo-kun. 2nd year student at Karakura High School. Current academic rank is 15th in his year. Gets into a lot of fights because of his hair color."

...Yeah, she's definitely talking about me.

I turned around to face her and took in her looks. Black hair, cute face and her uniform is from a high school in the neighbouring town. Overall, she looks like a cute girl that any guy would be glad to date, and I might have done so, if I hadn't noticed the feel of her reiatsu, which was definitely higher than an ordinary human. It was dark, not like a Hollow's, but felt colder, sticky, unlike a Hollow's reiatsu that felt more primal and full of anger. So she wasn't a Hollow or an Arrancar, but her reiatsu is already enough to set off alarms in my head. I have no idea what she wants, so I should probably play along to avoid arousing her suspicion.

"Well if that's really what you want, then I'm fine with it, I guess." When I said that, she immediately perked up.

"Really!? Then, please meet me at the shopping district tomorrow at 5! Thank you!" She ran off in the opposite direction of my home. Before she turned away completely, I caught sight of a cruel smirk on her face. That proves my theory, she's definitely not looking for a date. Well, despite the feel of her reiatsu, she doesn't seem stronger than a Gillian, so I shouldn't have to worry too much

...I thought it would be fine, how was I supposed to know that would be the day my life would change forever? ... Again.

The next day at 5.00 pm, after school let out, I went to the shopping district as promised. I had to tell Goat-face where I was going so he wouldn't overreact and kick me in the face when I do get home. Predictably, he ran over to that oversized poster of my late mother and cried about me growing up or something along those lines. Then he frowned when I told him of my suspicions and told me to be careful. When everyone else asked me where I was going, I just told them about Amano Yuuma, if that was even her real name. They immediately got serious.

"Kurosaki, are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" That was Ishida Uryu, I just call him Ishida. He's a Quincy, one of the last two actually. The rest of them were all eradicated by Soul Society. Despite that, he doesn't appear to have any true grudge against us Shinigami. I do consider him a close friend, and I know he considers me one too, but we'd sooner die than admit that. He's also the rank 1 in academics in our year.

"She doesn't seem much stronger than a Gillian, so I should be fine. I'm bringing my badge along in case I need my Fullbring, or to eject my soul."

"Do you want us to come along just in case?" That was Chad. His real name is Yasutora Sado, but when I first met him, I mispronounced the kanji of his name and called him Chad. After a while, the name just stuck, so Keigo, Mizuiro and I still call him Chad to this day. He's my best friend, a relationship that was affirmed when he saved me from some thugs and I did the same for him a few days later. His power is a Fullbring like my Blade of Bonds, Brazo Derecha de Gigante and Brazo Izquierda del Diablo, the Right Arm of the Giant and the Left Arm of the Devil. On an unrelated note, he's of Mexican descent, which explains his dark skin tone.

"It's fine. You guys should go home and do Ochi-sensei's homework. It seems tough. I'll do it after I'm finish up on my end."

"Kurosaki-kun, please be careful. If you get hurt, I won't be there to heal you..." That was Inoue Orihime. She has the same hair color as me, and is a pretty girl, that I have to admit. Her powers are extraordinary, the Shun Shun Rikka. They grant her unique abilities, the greatest of which is "event rejection", the ability to reject anything. This can be used to not only reject injuries, making her an effective healer, but it can also be used to erase anything from existence.

"Ah, I'll be careful. No need to worry about me." I reassured her. Still, I have to wonder. Amano Yuuma, what exactly is she?

I arrived at the shopping district on time, and sure enough, at the side of the entrance, Amano Yuuma was there. The moment she saw me, she smiled and waved, but not before smirking to herself. She probably thought I didn't see it. I waved back, careful not to give any indication that I knew what her true intention was.

She grabbed my hand and pulled me in to the shopping district. We went to different kinds of shops, enjoying our date. For dinner, we ate at a family restaurant where we shared a chocalte parfait. While I knew I should be more cautious, chocolate was still my favorite food, so I did somewhat enjoy myself.

By the time we were done, it was already 9 at night. Damn, will I still have time to do my homework? We were at the park not far from the shopping district. Amano Yuuma walked away from me and stood in front of the fountains.

"It was fun today." That's what she said while smiling innocently.

"Hey, Ichigo-kun?" She's already addressing me by my first name even though we just met?

"What is it?" I answered as carefully as possible.

"There's something I want to do to celebrate our first date." Here it comes, I reached into my pocket and grabbed my badge.

"What is it that you want?" I slowly pulled my badge out.

"Would you die for me?" I knew that was her intention from the beginning, but that was so sudden that I stopped for a second. She's obviously not very good at subtlety.

"Huh?"

-FLAP-

Black wings appeared from her back. Her black wings were making noises and they touched the ground after a moment.

What the!? Is she supposed to be an angel or something? No, I don't think that angels would so casually ask someone to die...

"It was fun, the short time I spent with you. It was like playing couple with a little child."

Her voice was very cold. Her tone became more adult-like and her mouth was forming a cold smile.

-ZZZ- There was a sound and a glowing spear-like object appeared in her hand. Actually, that _is_ a spear. I pulled out my badge and shouted, "Blade of Bonds!"

A white light shone forth from the badge and enveloped my body. A white bone like substance covered my body, turning into armor and the badge itself turned into a short sword. I raised the blade just in time to block the spear that was thrown at me. She seemed shocked.

"What!? Is that your Sacred Gear!? Impossible, according to our information, you haven't awakened your Sacred Gear yet!" Sacred Gear? What's she going on about?

I used Bringer Light to close in on her and swung my sword at her head. She made another spear and blocked my attack, barely. She jumped back.

"Sacred Gear? Sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about. This is a Fullbring." She raised her eyebrows in confusion at my statement. So she doesn't know what a Fullbring is. Then, this Sacred Gear or whatever is the reason she attacked me?

"So it's not a Sacred Gear. Well, that's fine. Either way, you're still going to die here." She rushed at me and thrust her spear at me. I blocked it with my sword and swung down at her head. She sidestepped and grabbed my hand, stopping me from swinging my sword again. Oh crap!

-Slash- A searing pain rose in my stomach. Dammit, she stabbed me! I fell to my knees, the spear still stabbed into my stomach.

"You gave me a bit more trouble than expected. Sorry, if you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put that Sacred Gear inside you. It made you a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early."

Even now, I still didn't know what she was talking about. She started to walk away from me.

"...Dammit, don't think I'll let it end like this...!" She stopped and turned back towards me with an amused smirk. Let's see how long that smugness of hers can last!

With the last of my strength, I raised my sword above my head and gathered as much power as I could. Black and red beams of reiryoku gathered around it. Probably sensing the power of my attack, she panicked and started to fly away. It's too late!

I swung my sword down and shouted, "Getsuga Tensho!" A large black and red wave shot out of my sword and rushed towards her. Seeing that, she tried to rise into the air, and she almost got away, but my Getsuga managed to hit her left hand. It was sliced immedialtely, and streams of blood started to pour out.

She screamed in agony and outrage, "Damn brat!" And she flew away.

I lost the last of my strength and collapsed. The spear in my stomach had already disappeared. I lay there on the ground, in a growing pool of my own blood. My vision started to blur, and I knew my body was dying. Everyone probably already felt my reiatsu fading and are rushing here right now. They won't make it. Inoue's the only healer among us and she definitely can't run halfway across the town to get to me in time. Shit, I can't die yet. If I die, who's gonna protect my family, my friends. Plus, getting killed for some obscure reason wasn't satisfying at all.

"Dammit! I can't die yet...!" I yelled out in frustration.

"In that case, shall I save you?" A new voice came from behind me. I turned my head around, or at least I would have if I had any strength left. Footsteps grew closer to me and when I looked up, I saw the most beautiful girl.

Long, flowing crimson-colored hair. Green eyes. A softly smiling face that definitely wasn't of Japanese origin. And a rather impressive figure too.

"Hm, I followed that Fallen Angel here because it was unusual that she would just suddenly leave the territory that she'd been occupying for so long. I didn't expect to meet a human as interesting as you. Being able to wound a Fallen Angel is quite an impressive feat for a human. And that power didn't appear to be a Sacred Gear."

There's that term again. Sacred Gear. And Fallen Angel? Is that what Amano Yuuma was? And what was so important about this Sacred Gear thing that she was willing to kill me over it? Of course, that's not the main issue right now.

"Save me? Hey, I'm not sure if you noticed, but I have a gaping hole in my stomach. It's something that even a hospital would not be able to treat easily, you know?" Even when I'm nearing death, I can't lose that sarcastic tongue of mine.

Rather than being offended at my tone, she just chuckled.

"I noticed. And I'm saying that I can save you. Are you willing to take that chance?"

Is she serious?

"What's the catch?" There's always a catch, miracles do not just drop from the sky.

"Are you prepared to give up your humanity?"

"...What?"

"If I save you, you won't be human anymore. Even so, do you want to live?"

She's serious about this, huh?

One thing I've always been proud of is my humanity. In front of opponents like Kariya, Muramasa, Aizen and Balthasar, I proudly proclaimed my humanity. Am I really ready to give that up?

But, there're still many things I have to live for. Graduating from high school, watching Yuzu and Karin grow up, keeping an eye on Goat-face, and most importantly, protecting others from Hollows. Yeah, I can't die yet. Even if it costs me my humanity.

"I'm prepared. I'm still not ready to die just yet." I gave my consent to the girl. She nodded.

"I see. Then, after this, your life will belong to me, and you will live for my sake." Saying that, she brought something out. Because of my blurring vision, I couldn't make out what it was, but whatever it was, it was glowing red. She brought it down to my body and the red light enveloped me, I felt something entering my body and I lost consciousness right after.

* * *

Life 0: "My life changes again." End

* * *

And that's it for the prologue! It's short, but it is just a prologue after all.

I'm going to say this now, this is an overpowered Ichigo fic. At his full power, he can already beat down most of the opponents he will face, even Vali, Loki and Cao Cao. But as I said in the beginning, Ichigo's power will be lower than usual at the beginning since he's using a body. He will overcome this soon enough. His Sacred Gear will be Boosted Gear. He'll be using his Fullbring and Shinigami powers as well, but the former will probably only be used in the first few chapters before he starts using Zangetsu to fight instead. He is strong, stronger than Issei and my other fic's Ichika, so expect plenty of beat-downs.

Of course, he won't be crushing every opponent he meets, Vali in Balance Breaker can give Ichigo a run for his money even in Bankai, especially if Vali uses Juggernaut Drive. He definitely can't defeat Loki with just his Balance Breaker or just his Bankai. He can, however run circles around Cao Cao, as in the end, Cao Cao is a human. Of course, he has technique and True Longinus to help him overcome that weakness, but Tensa Zangetsu's speed and power will definitely give him a hard time. Of course, Cao Cao can just attack one of Ichigo's friends and he'll immediately defend them, even if it means getting hit by the strongest holy spear that he knows can be fatal to him. There will be original arcs where strong opponents will be fighting Ichigo and giving him a hard time.

Well, that's all from me for now. I'll probably update Infinite Dragon Emperor next, unless you guys want me to work on this first. And the update will probably not come for at least a month because of my finals coming up. I'll be putting up a poll on whether you want me to update this or Infinite Dragon Emperor first.

That's it. Please read and review.


	2. Life 1: My life as a Devil begins

Oh god, my brain cells... Finals are over and my brain has turned to mush. But I can get back to writing my stories.

I was honestly surprised at the reception this story received. It has received over half of the favs and follows in one chapter, as well as a third of the reviews, than my other story has in nine.

I was not surprised by how many people thought I overpowered Raynare. She is not overpowered. Ichigo underestimated her and didn't fight seriously. The moment he sensed her power to be that of a Gillian, he subconsciously dismissed her as a threat. Gillians don't have any form of intelligence after all, but Raynare does. This is the ONLY reason why he lost. If he had been serious, Raynare would have been killed instantly.

For those who asked about the harem, yes the whole canon DxD harem is confirmed to be in it. I'm still on the fence about adding girls from Bleach into the harem. Tell me what you guys think.

It seems there is some doubt about the fate of the Vandereich. It's unlikely that any of them will appear. The ones who have been captured are busy being Mayuri's lab rats.

Oh, by the way, in this story, the Four Noble Families of Soul Society are as follows: Kuchiki, Shihoin, Kurosaki and Yamamoto. Ichigo is the heir to the Kurosaki Clan

Now that that's over and done with, let's move on to the story!

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

As I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on the roof of a skyscraper. How nostalgic, it's been a while since I've been in my inner world. Although, it is a bit weird. Usually, everything is sideways. As I looked around, I caught sight of a black figure standing on a pole.

"...Zangetsu-ossan."

"Ichigo."

That's right, it's my Zanpakuto, Zangetsu. My partner who's been with me since the beginning. Though, he looks a bit different from the last time I saw him. His shades, which used to be a shade of brown, were now tinted red. His face was a bit more clean shaven and he looked a bit younger.

"What's with the new look?" I asked casually.

"It appears to be a side effect of those Evil Pieces being inserted into you."

"...What pieces?" He gestured behind me. I turned my head, and sitting in the middle of the rooftop was a round ornate onyx table with a chess board on it. On the chess board were eight Pawn pieces, each one glowing red.

"Those are..."

"Evil Pieces, items used by devils to reincarnate other beings into new devils."

"Come again?"

"Ichigo, your body is no longer that of a human, it is now that of a devil."

If it had been any ordinary human being told that, they probably would have freaked out or laughed it off as a joke. Seeing as how Zangetsu has never lied to me once...

"So that's what that girl meant when she said I would lose my humanity."

"It isn't just your body and powers that have been affected. Look around." I did as he said, and noticed several changes in my inner world. First, as noted before, my inner world was no longer sideways, but was now right side up. Second, it was no longer noon in my inner world. Rather, it was now bathed in the colours of dawn. Third, instead of acres of skyscrapers, there was only now a single skyscraper, the one I'm standing on, and acres of greenery surrounding it. Fields, forests, gardens, ponds, lakes, oceans, all forms of nature were now what made up most of my inner world. Third, there were animals here too. Dogs, cats, birds, squirrels, and I think I see a whale in the ocean. Not just ordinary animals, there were unicorns, krakens, kirins and I think I see a phoenix flying overhead.

...Is this my inner world, or Wonderland?

"Is this world more to your liking?" I asked Zangetsu. He always complained that my inner world lacked greenery.

"It is satisfactory." His standards are pretty damn high, aren't they?

"But now is not the time to be admiring the view. Ichigo, there is someone you must meet."

"? Who's that?"

A sudden wave of heat washed over us and a pillar of fire erupted from the floor, right next to me. I turned and could faintly make out a large shadow within the pillar, easily 30 times my size. When the flames dispersed, what was left in its place was...

"DRAGON!?" Yes, standing before me was a colossal red western dragon, easily bigger than even Yammy in Resurreccion or Komamura-san's Kokujo Tengen Myouou. It stared down at me.

**[Hmph, so you're my current wielder. How interesting, I've never had a Shinigami as a wielder before. Well, nice to finally meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo. I am the Welsh Dragon, Red Dragon Emperor, Ddraige.]** A booming voice echoed throughout my inner world. Well, at least he was nice enough to introduce himself.

"What do you mean 'wielder', and what's with the 'finally'? You sound like you've been trying to meet me for a while now."

**[That's because I have. However, your Zanpakuto has been suppressing all of my attempts to reach you ever since I awakened 3 months ago, shortly after you regained your powers.] **I turned to look at Zangetsu. He merely nodded in response to Ddraige's statement.

"You already had enough on your plate. I saw no reason to give you more stress."

"Then, what did you mean by 'wielder'? Are you a Zanpakuto too?" I asked Ddraige. Toshiro's Hyorinmaru is also a dragon, so is this guy the same?

**[No, I am not a Zanpakuto. I am a being sealed within a Sacred Gear that you carry within your body.]** There's that term again. 'Sacred Gear'. Amano Yuuma or whatever her real name is also mentioned it.

"_You gave me a bit more trouble than expected. Sorry, if you want to hold a grudge, then hate the God who put that Sacred Gear inside you. It made you a threat to us, so we decided to get rid of you early."_

That's what she said.

"What is this Sacred Gear anyway? And why is it so important that that fallen angel or whatever would try to kill me over it?" I asked Ddraige.

**[Hmph, sorry, but it seems that we're out of time. Let the Gremory girl explain to you.] **

What do you mean we're out of time? Just as I was about to ask that, my vision started to fade. Ah, I must be waking up.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

I opened my heavy eyelids and stared up at the ceiling of my room for a few seconds. God, my whole body is aching. My left hand, especially. It feels like it just came out of a furnace. In fact, there seemed to be a faint green circle glowing on the back of it, but that could be a trick of the eye. I just woke up, after all.

It's Saturday, so there isn't any school. I threw a purple shirt with the number '15' emblazoned on it and black pants. That was when I noticed it. Voices. A lot of them. All coming from downstairs. And most of them are familiar to me. Ishida, Inoue, Chad, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya, Kurotsuchi, Komamura-san, the Soutaicho-jiisan. Is the whole of Soul Society gathered in my house!?

I raced downstairs, and as expected, everyone was cramped into the living room. And by everyone, I meant all the Captains, as well as Urahara-san, Yoruichi-san, Tessai-san, Goat-face, Karin, Yuzu and my friends. I did what was natural to me. I yelled.

"WHAT ARE ALL OF YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!?" All of them turned their heads towards me as one.

"Your reiatsu suddenly dropped to dangerously low levels last night and then increased to an even higher level than before, so we came to make sure you were alright." Ishida replied calmly while pushing his glasses up with his finger.

"That, I can understand, but why are all the Captains here too!?"

This time, it was Kyoraku-san who replied.

"Well, an emergency situation was called, so we're here to investigate. It's been a good five decades since Soul Society and the Three Factions crossed paths, after all." Three Factions? Right, if Fallen Angels and Devils exist, then Angels probably do too.

"Even so, mobilizing this many people for an investigation is taking it too far, isn't it!?"

"Originally, only Hirako-taicho and Hinamori-fukutaicho were to investigate this matter, but all of us were mobilized once we got new information." Komamura-san replied.

"And what is that new information?"

Hirako grinned at me.

"That you nearly died but was reincarnated into a devil at the last minute. Normally, that still wouldn't be enough to warrant all of us coming here, but it's a different story when your new mistress is the little sister of one of the leaders of the Devils."

"What?"

"Allow to me explain." A new voice answered me. I turned my head towards the couch, or rather the person sitting on it, calmly sipping tea, no doubt prepared by Yuzu. It was that girl who saved me last night. So she's a devil?

She placed her cup back on the table and started speaking.

"I was unable to introduce myself last night. My name is Rias Gremory. I'm a devil and the heir of one of the 72 Pillars of the Underworld." An heir? So these '72 Pillars' are like the Four Great Noble Families of the Underworld?

She continued, "As what your friend said, I'm the little sister of the current Lucifer. My brother-"

"Sirzechs Lucifer. The current Lucifer. The one called the Crimson Satan and one of the strongest, if not the strongest, devil in the Underworld." She was interrupted by, surprisingly, Goat-face. Now that I look carefully, there is an unusually serious look on his face.

"Oh? You sound like you know my brother, Kurosaki-san." Rias Gremory commented with a smile.

"I do. We once fought alongside each other in the civil war between the Old-Maou faction and the New-Maou faction." What!? This idiot took part in a war in the Underworld. It wasn't just me, Rias Gremory, my friends and most of the captains and vice-captains gaped at him in shock. The only ones who didn't appear surprised were the old man, Kyoraku-san, Ukitake-san and Unohana-san. Just when did this civil war take place anyway!? And what did he mean by 'Current'? Isn't there only one Lucifer?

Rias Gremory recovered from her shock and was about to speak, but the old man interjected.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, when that fallen angel attacked you, did she say why she did so?"

"Yeah, she said something about a Sacred Gear in me or something. What is this Sacred Gear anyway? I asked Zangetsu and Ddraige but they didn't-"

"...Ddraige?" Wow, this is the first time I've seen the old man this shocked. It wasn't just him, everyone was staring at me with varying expressions of shock, except Kenpachi and my friends, all of whom probably didn't even know what was going on.

It was Ukitake-san who broke the sudden silence.

"...Ichigo-kun, when you said Ddraige, did you mean a red western dragon bigger than Komamura-taicho's Bankai?"

What's with all the shock?

"Yeah, he called himself the Red Dragon Emperor and said he was a being sealed within a Sacred Gear."

"...Kurosaki, what's with your left hand?" Ishida asked me.

Hm? I brought it up. On the back of my hand was a green glowing circle.

"I-I thought it was just my imagination."

"Ichigo-kun, would you mind channeling some reiryoku into your left hand?" Ukitake-san asked me. That's an odd request.

"Hm? Sure, I guess." I did as he asked and sent some reiryoku into my left hand. I jumped when a red, spiked, green-jeweled gauntlet formed over my hand. Everyone did pretty much the same thing. Is this...?

"Ddraige, are you in there?"

**[...I'm quite surprised. None of my previous wielders have ever been able to use Boosted Gear's awakened from on the first try. They usually start out with a Twice Critical-like Sacred Gear. You're quite the talented one, Kurosaki Ichigo.]**

"...So it's true. Who would have thought the legendary Sekiryuutei would come to our side..." Ukitake-san mumbled to himself, though it was just barely loud enough for me to hear.

"Well, isn't that interesting." A new voice echoed throughout the room. A red, intricately designed, circular symbol appeared on the floor and a man who look uncannily like Rias Gremory appeared in its center, releasing an incredibly heavy presence, just like the old man. This must be...

"Onii-sama!?" Rias Gremory cried out in shock, confirming my suspicions. So this is Sirzechs Lucifer, the current Lucifer. The one Dad once fought alongside.

"It's been a while, Sirzechs. You look well." Dad casually greeted him.

"You as well, Isshin." Sirzechs Lucifer greeted back. So they're on first-name basis. They must be close.

"O-Onii-sama, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" Rias Gremory asked rather timidly, like how Rukia would speak to Byakuya most of the time. Although, Sirzechs Lucifer seems infinitely friendlier than Byakuya.

He smiled.

"Grayfia reported that you had a new Pawn. Imagine my surprise when I found that your new servant was the son of my old friend, and that he was the one who smashed through the top three levels of the Underworld and destroyed the gates two years ago, as well as the one the Kushanada temporarily bestowed their power on. He seemed quite interesting, so I came to see hime for myself. To think that he is the current Sekiryuutei as well..." I winced when everyone looked at me, Rias Gremory in shock, and everyone else in exasperation and for some, amusement.

"Sorry about that, I hope the damage I did wasn't permanent." The only thing I could do was apologize.

Sirzechs Lucifer chuckled, "Oh no, the damage was easy enough to repair. There's no need to worry about that. Rather than that, it's nice to meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun."

"Um, likewise, it's nice to meet you, Sirzechs Lucifer-san."

He chuckled again, "Polite, unlike your father. No need to be so formal, just Sirzechs is fine."

Dad snorted, "He's only polite to a select few, everyone else he just greets casually, even the Soutaicho."

"Now now, all that aside, as a former member of the Gremory Clan and the current Lucifer, allow me to welcome you, Kurosaki Ichigo, as one of my little sister's servants." Sirzechs-san gave me a warm welcome.

"Ah, it's a good time, so could I ask a few questions?" Time to get some answers.

"Of course, I'll answer to the best of my ability."

"Then, what exactly happened to me last night? Zangestu, my Zanpakuto told me I was reincarnated as a devil by Rias-san with something called Evil Pieces."

"Just Rias is fine. As you already know, you were attacked by a Fallen Angel last night. However, judging from her actions, it is unlikely that she was following official orders. It is not Azazel's, Shemhaza's or Baraqiel's style to order such a thing, although Kokabiel is a different story. I found you and, with your consent, reincarnated you as a devil with Evil Pieces. Evil Pieces are items that the current Beelzebub created to reincarnate other beings as devils. These Evil Pieces and their abilities are modeled after chess pieces: Pawn, Knight, Bishop, Rook, Queen and King. I'll explain more about their abilities another time." Rias-san answered me. I recognized most of those names as the names of the Fallen Angel leaders I once read about in the Bible when I read it out of curiosity.

"Speaking of which, Rias, how many pieces did Ichigo-kun use up?" Sirzechs-san asked Rias-san.

She hesitated a bit, and then replied, "He used up all eight of my Pawn Pieces, and half of those were Mutation Pieces with high values. There are almost no beings in the world with that much potential. It was incredibly lucky for me to have him as a servant."

Sirzechs-san smiled, "How interesting. Ajuka would be quite intrigued by this."

They didn't seem to be continuing, so I asked my next question.

"Then, how was it that she was able to wound me so badly with one attack? With all my training, my body should have been able to withstand attacks like those with no problem."

Rias-san nodded at my words. "True, if that had been just an ordinary spear, and if you really have been through what I have been told by your friends, an attack like that probably wouldn't have even fazed you. However, that was a spear of light. Light is poisonous to both humans and devils, which is why you fell in one attack. If you had been in your Shinigami form, you would have won easily."

"Which reminds me, Kurosaki, why didn't you just use your Shinigami powers last night?" Ishida asked me.

I grimaced in response.

"...I underestimated her. I dismissed her as a threat and paid the price for it last night."

"No, even if you had used your Shinigami powers last night, I would not put it past that Fallen Angel to just attack your body. Judging from the way she tried to drop your guard by posing as an ordinary girl, she probably doesn't have much honor. The end result would still have been the same." Sirzechs-san said.

I nodded. "Then, what exactly is a Sacred Gear? I asked Zangetsu and Ddraige, but they didn't have time to explain to me."

From the gauntlet on my hand, Ddraige started to speak.

**[****Sacred Gears are irregular powers that are bestowed upon certain humans. Most humans who have had their names written down in history were Sacred Gear possessors. They used the power of their Sacred Gear to record their name in history. All of them have different abilities and there can be more than one of the same Sacred Gear at a time, with 13 exceptions. But all of them have one thing in common: only humans or those with human blood can be born with a Sacred Gear. Also, it is possible for someone to possess more than one Sacred Gear at the same time, again with 13 exceptions.]**

Sirzechs-san nodded.

"Adding on to what Ddraige has explained, the 13 exceptions he talked about are known as the Longinus Gears." Hm? I've heard that name somewhere before.

"Longinus... You mean the spear that pierced the side of Jesus Christ in the Bible?"

"Yes. However, these Sacred Gears are known as the Longinus for a simple reason: they have the ability to slay gods." What!?

"Slay gods!? You mean they can bypass the immortality that gods have!?"

"Yes, when they are at their full power. The 13 Longinus Gears are as follows, listen carefully and remember them: the low-tier Longinus Gears: Telos Karma, Sephiroth Grail, Innovate Clear, Absolute Demise, Incineration Anthem and Canis Lycaon. The mid-tier Longinus Gears: Regulus Nemea, Divine Dividing and Boosted Gear, which is what you have. The high-tier Longinus Gears: Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker, Zenith Tempest and True Longinus. Among the 13, only True Longinus has the ability to slay gods in its base form. All Longinus Gears typically have more than one ability as opposed to other Sacred Gears." T-That's a lot to take in.

"Then, what is this Boosted Gear's abilities?" I grasped the gauntlet with my right hand.

"So far, only one ability has been confirmed: to double the user's power every ten seconds."

Dad interjected, "Put it this way, when used enough times, your Shikai's base power can be boosted to the point where each swing is as strong as Mugetsu." Whaaaaaaaat!? It's that powerful!?

"Are you serious!? O-Oi, Ddraige, you're pretty damn amazing..." I could only gape in awe at the gauntlet.

**[Hmph. Well to reach that kind of power, time is needed, so it's not a flawless ability.] **Even so, this ability is still amazing.

"Also, Sacred Gears also have a form similar to your Zanpakuto's Bankai. Its name is Balance Breaker and is usually an enhancement of the base form's abilities. Though, there have been cases where the Balance Breaker's abilities differ greatly from the base state's." A form similar to Bankai!? Boosted Gear already has such an incredible ability, just what will the Balance Breaker be like!?

...Oh that's right, I still have one more question.

"Also, why are you called the 'current Lucifer'? Aren't you the Lucifer that God cast out of Heaven?"

Sirzechs-san shaked his head.

"No, that was the original Lucifer. He, along with the other three original Maous, perished in the Great War between the three factions. The name 'Lucifer' is now more of a title than an actual name." Oh, I see. That makes sense.

"Incidentally, it was Ddraige and his rival Albion that slew the original Maou." Sirzechs-san added as an afterthought.

"Wha-!? Seriously!?"

"Yes, the Great War also marks the only time where the three factions worked together for the same purpose: to slay the Welsh Dragon, Ddraige, and the Vanishing Dragon, Albion. It was during that battle that the original Maou perished."

**[Albion and I were young and cocky back then. Without caring about our surroundings, we just fought with our full power, destroying the area around us and interrupting the war with the Three Factions. When the Three Factions confronted us, we just yelled stupid things like 'Don't get in the way of our fight!' and 'A mere God and Maou shouldn't be interrupting a duel between dragons!' In the end, we were ripped to pieces and our souls were sealed into Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing.] **

...Wow, you two really remind me of Kenpachi.

"...Sirzechs Lucifer, there is something for us to discuss as well." The old man interrupted us. Sirzechs-sama turned his attention to him.

"Ah yes, Yamamoto-Soutaicho-dono. The alliance between Soul Society and the Devils. Shall we adjourn to a more appropriate venue for the negotiations?" Saying that, Sirzechs-sama and the Captains started to leave the house, one by one. I asked Ukitake-san who was the last to leave.

"Ukitake-san, what is this alliance that they're discussing?"

"Ah, for quite some time, we have always been trying to establish an alliance, or at least a truce with the Three Factions, however, there has never been an appropriate time to properly discuss it. However, with you as a Substitute Shinigami and a newly reincarnated devil, the servant of the current Lucifer's little sister no less, as well as the heir to one of the Four Noble Families, a formal discussion of an alliance is now necessary. Most likely, you will serve as the bridge between Soul Society and the devils. It seems that once again, we are forced to place a heavy burden on you, Ichigo-kun." Saying that last bit, Ukitake-san smiled bitterly.

"Ah, no, it's no problem, really. There's no need to feel bad about it." I tried to cheer him up. This is the path I chose myself. No matter the hardship I will face in the future, I won't regret my choice nor will I blame others for it.

"Thank you, Ichigo-kun." Ukitake-san smiled again and left as well, leaving me with my friends, Goat-face and Rias.

I slumped into the seat opposite Rias. She smiled at me.

"Well then, like my brother, as the heir to the Gremory Clan, allow me to formally welcome as my servant, Kurosaki Ichigo. Oh, may I call you Ichigo?"

I nodded in response.

"There is a small issue we must settle by today, if possible. That would be your transfer from Karakura High to Kuou Academy."

Huh!?

"Eh!? Onii-chan has to leave!?" Yuzu finally spoke up.

"Yuzu, shh!" Karin quieted her.

"I would prefer to have all my servants close to me. But if you do not wish to, I will force you to. However, it would make getting to each other in case of an emergency rather difficult, seeing as how we live in different towns." In the past, I would protested, but after this long, I learned that protesting is just delaying the inevitable, so I might as well accept that I'll be transferring schools.

"I heard Kuou Academy's standards are pretty high, will I really be able to get in?" Kuou, originally an all-girls school, is ranked as the 7th best co-ed high school in Japan. Its standards must be pretty high.

"It'll be fine with your current grades. Kuou will gladly accept you. Even if they did not, I could just ask my father to pull some strings, since he's one of the administrators."

"I see. Then, what about accommodations? It's pretty troublesome to ride the train back here every day."

"The apartments in that town are actually quite cheap. You should be able to afford it."

"Eh!? Onii-chan, you're really leaving!?" Yuzu cried out in dismay.

"Well, it's not like I'm leaving for good. I'll come back to visit on weekends."

"Muuuu..." Yuzu pouted at me. Sorry, I'll make it up to you later.

"Ichigo." Dad called out to me.

"What?"

"Like Rias said, that Fallen Angel wouldn't have hesitated to attack your body had you gone into Shinigami form. Unfortunately, you'll probably be meeting enemies like that pretty often from now on, so going into soul form is not an option."

"Then, what should I do? I can't keep relying on Fullbring forever."

"You'll have to learn how to summon Zangetsu while in your body. Kisuke can help you with that." I turned to look at Urahara-san. He shrugged.

"It's no problem. That being said, you should also learn how to use Kido. Using your Zanpakuto all the time will only make you more predictable. It's better to have a variety of techniques. Tessai-san and I can help you with your Kido." Kido, huh? That's gonna be hard. While my control over my reiryoku is better than it was back then, I can't cut down on my reiryoku flow enough to use low level Kido. And the high level Kido use up a lot of reiryoku, so it's not feasible to use them continuously in battle. Which means that I'll have to work on my control.

"Thanks, Urahara-san."

He grinned and opened his fan.

"No problem! You're my best customer after all. I'll open up a branch near your school so you won't have to go back and forth for training." A new branch. Your current shop isn't earning a lot, can you really afford to open another branch?

"Well, now that that's settled, Ichigo, I'll be heading back first, the procedures for your transfer should be done by tomorrow, so you should probably get yourself an apartment." Waving at me, Rias left.

"Looks like you've gotten yourself into more trouble, Kurosaki." Ishida smirked at me.

"Oh shut up. It's not like I asked for this."

"Well, if you ever need help, just give us a call. We'll definitely come to help."

"Us too. Don't hesitate to call Renji and I." Rukia added.

"Thanks guys." These guys really are my best friends.

"Well then, we'll be making a move first. See you later, Kurosaki." With that, Ishida and the others left too.

"...Ichigo." Dad called out to me again.

"What?"

He grinned in a lecherous way.

"While you're there, make sure to make me some grandchildr-"

He didn't get a chance to finish because I punched into the wall.

"Shut up, Goat-face!"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

Two days later, on early Monday morning, and I meant really early, the sun had not even risen yet, I was standing outside my house in the Kuou Academy uniform that Rias brought over yesterday. I have to say, I don't look too bad in it. My friends had all gathered here to see me off. Keigo made a huge fuss when he heard I was transferring to Kuou, since the student body still mostly comprises of girls. Of course, he shut up after I clotheslined him. Mizuiro was more accepting of it while Tatsuki, like Keigo, had made a huge fuss over it, but got over it after a while. In my hand was a bag containing just my basic necessities. Rias said she would take care of other items that I might need. Pretty generous of her. Then again, the money spent on my stuff would probably be nothing but loose change to her.

"Good luck, Kurosaki. I have a feeling you're gonna need it."

"Remember, don't hesitate to call us if you need help."

"Kurosaki-kun, please be careful..."

"Ichigo, don't get into too much trouble. We don't need another megalomaniac tearing up Japan..."

"Ichigo, introduce me to some of the girls there~!"

"Just ignore the idiot and have fun there."

"Ah, thanks guys. I'll see you soon." With that, I started walking to the train station. Rias said she would wait for me in front of my new apartment, which was quite cheap like she said. I was able to afford it with the money I earned from my part-time jobs. A mere 8000 yen rent per month for a 5 roomer with a kitchen and two bathrooms was a pretty sweet deal. Of course, it lacked any furniture.

When I got to the station, I wasn't surprised to find it mostly empty. Most people would still be asleep after all. Good, it'll be easy to find a seat on the train. It was a pretty long trip to the next town, about half an hour, so maybe I can get some sleep.

The train arrived no more than 5 minutes later, as expected, it was mostly empty, except for a few dozing office workers. I slumped into the nearest seat and promptly fell asleep. By the time I had woken up, I has just reached my station. Pulling myself up the seat, I walked towards my new apartment.

"Let's see... 303, right?" I muttered to myself, trying to remember my apartment number, though that was unnecessary, seeing as how Rias and a handsome blonde-haired boy about my age were waiting outside my apartment, the door wide open. The moment they saw me, they waved at me, the blonde-haired boy a bit more hesitantly. Is he a devil too?

"Ichigo, you're here early."

"What do you mean early? You got here before me, didn't you?"

"Well, I had to oversee the movers moving all of your new furniture in, so I came early." Ah, that explains the open door and the noise inside.

Rias gestured to the blonde boy.

"Oh yes, Ichigo, this is Kiba Yuuto, a 2nd year student like you at Kuou and my Knight."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun." Kiba Yuuto waved at me.

"Just Ichigo is fine, seeing as how we'll probably be working together for a long time."

"Well then, likewise, you can just call me Yuuto, Ichigo-kun."

"Rias-sama, all the furniture has been moved in." One of the movers appeared in the doorway.

"Thank you, you may leave now." Rias dismissed them. They bowed and disappeared through a magic circle. So they were devils too?

"Well then Ichigo, come take a look at your apartment." She beckoned me inside and the moment I stepped inside, I whistled. Not bad at all.

Each room had air conditioning and a 28'inch flat screen, each of the bedrooms had a queen sized bed and a desk made of mahogany. The living room had a 4-seater coach. The kitchen was outfitted with every appliance one would ever need. The bathrooms now had a large tub.

"Pretty nice. Must have been expensive though."

She just waved her hand nonchalantly.

"It's fine. My servants deserve the best, after all."

"The Gremory Clan is famous for being quite affectionate towards their servants. Other clans wouldn't go this far to accommodate their servants." Yuuto explained. I see. So I was really lucky to get Rias as my master.

"School will be starting soon, we better go. Ichigo, here are your books and bag, your timetable is also inside." Rias handed me a briefcase bag. She's quite thorough, isn't she? I left the bag containing my stuff on the floor and locked the door behind me. I can unpack later.

As we walked towards the campus, Rias started talking.

"By the way, I've listed you as a member of the Occult Research Club, of which-" She didn't finish because I couldn't suppress a cry of shock.

"What!?" She sighed and flicked my forehead.

"Listen until the end. As I was saying, I've listed you as a member of the Occult Research Club, of which I am the club president. While it is called that, it's really just a front for my servants and me."

"Oh." Oops.

"That's why, while we're in school, call me Buchou."

"Understood."

While we were taking, the school came into view. I whistled again.

"It's pretty big."

"It was founded by devils, after all. It's only natural for the structure to be this extravagant." Yuuto said.

As we walked through the gates, the students near us suddenly stopped walking and started whispering among themselves. Maybe it's because I'm a devil now, but my hearing seems to have improved, since I can still hear them. For the girls...

"Eh? Who's that prince walking with Rias-oneesama and Kiba-kun?"

"I don't know, but he's really handsome!"

"I heard a transfer student was coming today, maybe that's him?"

"He's walking pretty close to Kiba-kun... Could it be!? BL!?" I actually cringed at that, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Yuuto stumble before he recovered and continued walking as though nothing happened. And for the guys...

"Dammit, not another Casanova!"

"All handsome guys can die!"

"We're gonna stay virgins forever..."

I face-palmed at their reactions.

"Is it always like this?" I asked Rias and Yuuto in exasperation.

Both of them gave a wry smile.

"Unfortunately."

We sighed at the same time.

"Class is about to start. Ichigo, Yuuto, I'll see you after school."

We nodded and she left for the 3rd year class rooms.

"Ichigo-kun, which class are you in?"

I fished out my timetable to check.

"Let's see...2-A."

"That's too bad, I'm in 2-C. I'll see you at the club then."

"Sure, see you later." He and I separated and left for our classrooms.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. Nice to meet you." Damn, it's awkward having to introduce myself to 31 other students staring at me.

There was absolute silence in the classroom, and then...

"KYAAAA! HE'S SO HOT!" The girls in the class shouted as one. I winced as my ears rang from the noise.

Oh boy, something tells me my school life just got a lot more complicated. I think I liked it better when everyone thought I was a delinquent...

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

It's 3pm and classes just ended. The moment the bell rang, the girls in the class all flocked to my table.

"Kurosaki-kun, let's go out and have some fun!"

"Ah, sorry, I have to go for club activities now."

"Eh? Kurosaki-kun, you already have a club?"

"Yeah, the Occult Research Club. The club president is a friend of mine."

"EH!? Rias-oneesama is your friend?"

Oneesama? She must be pretty popular in this school.

"Nooo~! If Rias-oneesama is the opponent, we don't stand a chance~!" What on earth are they talking about? Oh well. I picked up my bag and walked out the classroom, and promptly stopped. Now that I think about it, I have no idea where the club room is.

"Shit." I muttered to myself.

"Yo" I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Yuuto, good timing, I just realized I don't where the club room is."

"I know. That's why I rushed here. It was an oversight on our part, forgetting to tell you."

I followed him outside of the school building.

"Why did we leave the building? Aren't we going to the club room?"

"We are. The club room is located in the old school building."

"We have an old school building?" Yuuto nodded.

"It was the main building when Kuou was still an all-girls school. We shifted to the new school building when Kuou became a co-ed school, though the old school building is still standing. Of course, other than our club, no one else uses the old school building, so we pretty much have the whole place to ourselves."

"Is that so? That's pretty convenient."

We walked through the woods surrounding the campus and arrived at a much smaller building than the main building. Furthermore, it was made of wood and looked really old. Well, even though I say that, there aren't any signs of dilapidation at all. In fact, despite the old look, it seemed quite well maintained.

We walked up to the 2nd floor of the building, and we went deep into the corridor. As expected, the interior, including the rooms that aren't in use, were kept clean. Yuuto stopped in front of a large set of wooden doors. Was this the old student council room? The name plate on the door read 'Occult Research Club'.

Yuuto knocked on the door.

"Buchou, we're here."

Then, Rias replied from the other side.

"Come in."

Yuuto went inside and I followed him, and froze when I took one step in. The walls were covered in symbols and texts and there was a giant magic circle on the floor. Rather than an Occult Research Club, this looks more like the lair of a satanic cult, which we are, in a sense.

There were some normal furniture inside, a couple of sofas and desks. On one of the sofas sat a petite, white-haired girl, shorter than even Rukia, and that's saying something. She just stared at me with a blank face, not showing any emotion. In her hands was a plate of youkan. Looks like she was eating before we came in.

Yuuto introduced us to each other.

"Ichigo-kun, this is Toujou Koneko-chan, a 1st year student. Koneko-chan, this is the 2nd year transfer student, Kurosaki Ichigo, the new Pawn."

I bowed awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you. Just Ichigo is fine." She wordlessly bowed back and went back to eating.

That was when I first noticed the sound of running water and saw the source.

"...Yuuto."

"Hm?"

"There appears to be a bathtub in here, and it appears that someone is taking a shower. Is that normal?"

"Ah, it wasn't Kuou's norm back then, if that's what you're asking. Buchou had the bathtub brought here for convenience's sake."

"...I see."

Then, the sound of running water stopped, and the shadow of a girl behind the shower curtain started moving around.

"Buchou, take this."

Ah, there's someone else there too.

"Thank you, Akeno."

I really had to fight to keep my blush down. It wouldn't do to lose my composure here.

The shower curtain opened, and Rias, or rather Buchou as I'm supposed to call her in school, stepped out in her uniform, with her hair still wet.

She smiled when she saw me.

"Sorry about that. I didn't have time to take a shower yesterday because I was finalizing your transfer, so I ended up showering here."

Someone stepped out behind Buchou. It was a beautiful black-haired girl with a bust size exceeding even Buchou and Inoue. She must be what Keigo would call a Yamato Nadeshiko.

"Ara Ara, how do you do? My name is Himejima Akeno, pleased to make your acquaintance. You can call me Akeno." Oh, I've heard of her. According to my classmates, she and Buchou are the top two Onee-sama of the school.

"Ah, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, nice to meet you as well. Likewise, you can call me Ichigo." I introduced myself.

Buchou started talking.

"Well then, Ichigo, we, the Occult Research Club, welcome you as our newest member and as a fellow devil."

As I thought, my school life is getting more complicated.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Here's your tea."

Akeno-san handed me a cup of Japanese tea. I took a sip and savored the rich flavor.

"It's delicious."

"Ara ara, thank you very much." Akeno-san smiled at the compliment. The five of us were sitting around a round table.

"Akeno, take a seat here."

"Yes, Buchou."

Akeno-san sat down next to Buchou.

"Well then, as you already know, you were attacked by a fallen angel. It appears that she has returned to this town, though she'll probably not be making an appearance anytime soon because of that wound you gave her. It's hard to function with only one hand, after all. Fallen angels were former Angels who served God, but they fell down to hell because they had evil intentions. They are also the enemy of us Devils."

I already knew that much.

"We, the Devils, have been in a war with the Fallen Angels since ancient times. We have been fighting over the possession of the Underworld, also known as Hell in the human world. The Underworld is split into two areas of the Devil and Fallen Angel. The Devil forms a pact with humans and receives their sacrifice and increases their strength. The Fallen Angel on the other hand controls humans to eliminate Devils. And here, the Angels come to destroy the two races on God's order. So the war is split into three groups: Devils, Fallen Angels and Angels. This has been going on since ancient times."

"Um...Buchou, by sacrifice, do you mean that we eat the souls of humans?" It feels kinda wrong to have to eat souls like a hollow after fighting to save them for so long.

She giggled at my question.

"No no no, that tradition died out with the original Maou. Eating the souls of humans is now frowned upon among devils. Anyway, unlike Hollows, devils do not need to eat human souls in the first place." I see, that's a relief.

"Then, what did you mean by sacrifice?"

"When humans sign a contract with a devil and once the devil's end of the bargain has been fulfilled, the humans are required to pay a price for our service. The price varies with the wish that we are summoned to grant. It can be from small trinkets to the lives of the contractor." That makes sense. Of course, there's something else bugging me.

"Buchou, even though we are devils, we still seem to resemble humans."

She smiled and at once, a pair of bat wings appeared behind her.

"These wings and tail are the proof of a devil. We just have the ability to conceal them. Naturally, you have them too." The moment she finished her sentence, I felt something sprout out of my back. When I turned to look, it was, as expected, a pair of bat wings identical to Buchou's. When I turned back, Yuuto, Koneko and Akeno-san had also revealed their wings.

"Also, devils have the ability to manipulate their appearance, so don't expect a devil who looks like a teenager to actually be a teenager. But don't worry, all of us here look our age."

"Then, did Amano Yuuma attack me because of my Boosted Gear?"

"It's unlikely that she knew which Sacred Gear you possessed. Most likely, her higher-ups told her that you possess a powerful Sacred Gear and told her to keep an eye on you. Though, she disobeyed that order and attacked you." I nodded at her words.

"Well then, Ichigo, I would like to see your current skill level for myself. Would you mind having a spar with Yuuto?"

...Huh?

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

And that's how we ended up in the yard behind the old school building.

"I've put up a barrier around this area so that we won't attract the attention of the students. There's no need to hold back. I only ask that you do not kill each other or damage the building." Buchou told me and Yuuto, who were standing on opposites sides of the yard. Off to the side, Koneko and Akeno-san were observing the spar as well.

"Boosted Gear!" I summoned the red gauntlet.

"Blade of Bonds!" I activated my Fullbring.

Yuuto held a black western sword in his hand and assumed a sword stance.

"Well then, begin!" Yuuto immediately shot towards me at an unnatural speed. Is this the ability of a Knight? Of course, I can still see him clearly.

He swung his sword at my neck and I immediately parried it with my short sword. I pushed him back with enough force to make him lose balance and used Bringer Light to get behind him. His eyes widened in surprise at my speed and he barely managed to avoid a cut across his back.

We continued in this manner of attacking, parrying and maneuvering for a few minutes before we moved back from each other, Yuuto panting more heavily than me.

I smirked at him and as a look of confusion washed over his face, I gathered energy into my blade and swung it at him.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A wave of black and red shot towards him and he raised his blade to block it. The resulting impact kicked up a huge cloud of dust.

CRACK!

The sound of metal shattering rang out. When the smoke cleared, I could see Yuuto kneeling on the ground, holding a broken blade and sporting light burns on his clothes.

"Hm, I was quite skeptical when Buchou told me about your various feats in the past, but your fighting style definitely speaks volumes about your experience. It seems that I'll have to take you seriously." As he finished that sentence, another sword appeared out of nowhere in his hand.

"Is that a Sacred Gear?" I asked him.

"That's right. This is my Sacred Gear, Sword Birth. It allows me to create various types of demonic swords. This is the sword, Dark Matter."

He swung the sword at me and a wave of jet black shot out. I countered with a Getsuga Tensho. The two waves met and exploded, kicking up a large amount of dust, obstructing our vision.

I readied my sword and seconds later, Yuuto shot out of the dust cloud and swung his sword at my neck. I did something he did not expect and caught the sword with my armored hand. As he froze in shock, I used all of my strength to lift him up by the sword, causing him to lose balance, and I thrust the sword at him. He barely moved out of the way in time and my blade cut his shirt instead. He kicked my arm and forced me to let go of the sword. Somehow, this scene seems kinda familiar...

We separated again. I guess it's about time I ended this.

"Boost!"

**[Boost!]**

Ddraige taught me the basics of Boosted Gear over the weekend, so I can at least do this much.

Yuuto created another sword in his left hand and rushed at me again.

I dodged him and swung the sword at his back, and got a huge surprise when another sword appeared above his back and took the blow. The sword shattered but Yuuto was able to get way.

"Boost!"

**[Boost!]**

The second Boost. I'm ready!

"Let's go, Ddraige!"

**[Yeah!]**

**[Explosion!]**

The power that was stored inside of Boosted Gear burst forth and my power quadrupled.

I gathered energy into my blade again.

"Getsuga Tensho!" I swung down and an enormous wave of black and red shot out at Yuuto. He hurriedly created a wall of swords to block my Getsuga, but it cut through them like butter and smashed into Yuuto, who went flying backwards into the woods, with a large gash across his chest.

It's over. There's no way he's still conscious after getting hit by that.

**[Reset!]**

The power from Boosted Gear disappeared and some slight fatigue seeped into my body. Boosted Gear and Blade of Bonds dissipated.

"Oi, Yuuto, you okay!?" Uh-oh, I didn't kill him, did I?

After s few tense seconds of silence, I finally heard a groan of pain.

I heaved a sigh of relief. At least he's alive.

I walked over to him and helped him up, slinging his arm over my shoulders.

I looked back at Buchou and the others, who were staring at me in open shock.

"How was that?" I asked Buchou, who snapped out of her stupor.

"W-Well, I already knew you were strong, but to be this much stronger than Yuuto, who was trained by my brother's Knight... You've really exceeded my expectations, Ichigo."

"That aside, we should tend to Yuuto-kun immediately." Akeno-san rushed over and opened a small glass bottle.

"What's that?"

"These are phoenix tears. They have the ability to heal any wound." After giving me that brief explanation, Akeno-san carefully poured a few drops on Yuuto's wound.

Stingy!

Was what I was about to say until his wound closed up almost instantly.

"Ichigo."

I turned to Buchou.

"I heard that your Fullbring was much weaker than your Shinigami form. If you had fought in your Shinigami form, how would the battle have gone?"

"...If I had used my Shinigami powers to fight, even without Boosted Gear's ability, if my full power Getsuga Tensho hit him head on, there'd probably be nothing left of him and the surroundings."

Buchou shivered when she heard the seriousness in my voice.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

After the spar, we were back in the club room. Yuuto had come around and waved me off when I apologized.

"It's no problem, I'm not dead, right?" Was what he said.

Buchou addressed me, "Ichigo, I will explain the workings of the devils' society to you. Devils are separated into four ranks, Low-class, Middle-class, High-class and Ultimate-class. The ranking system is called Peerage. Right now, you, as well as all of my servants, in other words my peerage, are Low-class devils. I, being a pure-blooded devil from one of the 72 Pillars, am a High-class devil. It's unfortunate, but the place you were born in and the family you were born from are what decide your status in our society. That being said, there are devils who rose in rank. Everyone has to start somewhere, after all."

I nodded as I took in her words. So the devils are not that different from Soul Society, where the poor are really poor and the rich are filthy rich, and where background plays a huge role in status.

"Because a huge number of pure-blood devils perished in the Great War and the civil war, the Evil Piece System was introduced to try and boost the population. However, since this would only increase the number of servants and not the number of powerful devils, a new policy was introduced. Reincarnated devils will be given opportunities to prove themselves and the ones who get promoted to High-class rank will be given their own peerage. A lot of devils, including myself, integrated ourselves into human society because of this. You may have already encountered devils before in the past."

Is that so? I certainly don't remember meeting anyone like that. Then again, I could never sense reiatsu until I became a Shinigami.

"There are people who can differentiate between devils and humans, like you. The ones with strong greed or desires are usually the ones who can immediately distinguish devils from humans. It is because of this that we give out these leaflets to those humans, so that we can form a contract with them. Forming contracts is a good way to improve a devil's reputation." She waved her hand towards a pile of leaflets on the table.

"I thought humans drew magic circles when they wanted to summon a devil." That was what I always saw in movies and on TV.

"That was true in the past, but the humans today mostly lack the ability to draw a proper magic circle, which is why we switched to leaflets that already have a magic circle drawn on them."

She picked up a stack of leaflets and handed them to me.

"Your first job as a devil is to distribute these to as many people as you can. You can give them out, or you can put them in their mailboxes."

"Understood. I'll start as soon as I've unpacked."

"Good. That ends today's meeting. Everyone, especially Yuuto, go home and get some rest."

""""Yes, Buchou!"""" All four of us said at the same time.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

And that's why, once I had unpacked my belongings and it was dark enough, I headed out to hand out as many leaflets. I used Bringer Light to quickly move around town and before I knew it, I was already done. This pattern repeated itself until a few days later...

"Ichigo, you've done well handing out that many leaflets, now you can start your real job as a devil."

"Meaning that I can start forming contracts?"

Buchou nodded.

"Yes. Yuuto got two requests today, so I would like you to take one of them. Akeno is inserting your carved seal into the magic circle as we speak. Stand in the middle of the magic circle when she's done and we'll transport you to the location of the client." Indeed, Akeno-san was in the circle casting a spell of some sort.

To clarify, the magic circle is the sign of the Gremory Clan, which is like a family crest for us servants. So for people who are trying to summon us, and for people who want to make a contract with us, this sign represents our symbol. When the magic power is used, it is coordinated with this magic circle. Yuuto and the others have these signs on their bodies and it operates whenever they use their powers. I will also be getting those signs engraved on my body, but first I'll need to learn how to control my demonic powers, which will probably take a while, considering my track record with control.

"Ichigo, hold out your left palm."

I put my left hand towards Buchou, just like she said. Buchou started to write something on my palm with her fingers. Is she writing a charm? It feels like she is drawing something like a circle... Instantly my palm started to glow. There was a circular symbol, a magic circle engraved in my hand. It's glowing in blue and white. Oh, it's a magic circle.

"This magic seal is used for transportation, and it can transport you to the client's place instantly. And when the contract is finished, it lets you return to this room."

"Understood."

"Akeno, is it ready?"

"Yes, Buchou." Akeno-san stepped out of the magic circle.

"Good. Ichigo, stand in the middle of the circle."

I did as she said and the magic circle started to glow with a strong blue light. I can feel the energy surging in my body when I'm touching the magic circle. So is this the trait for the Servants?

"The magic circle is responding to the client. Now you are going to be transported to that location. You already have the manual for what to do after getting transported right?"

"Yes."

"Good response. Now get going!"

"Oh and Ichigo-kun, I hope you're good at cooking and giving massages."

"Huh?" I turned to look at Yuuto inquiringly, but he just smiled and waved. Before I could ask him what he meant, a blue light enveloped me and I felt my feet leave the ground.

When I landed, I found myself in a bedroom. A girl's bedroom, to be precise. How did I know that? The huge number of cosmetics on the dresser was kind of a giveaway.

"Kyaaa! It's Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun is in my bedroom!" I turned to see a black-haired girl slightly younger than me, probably a 1st year.

"Hey. I'm the devil you summoned." I responded nonchalantly.

"Hm~ I was expecting Kiba-kun, but Kurosaki-kun is good too! My name is Hanekawa Aika, Kuou 1st year. Now then, please wear this!" She held out a tuxedo.

What does she want me to wear a tuxedo for? I just complied and left the room to get changed. Huh, in this outfit, I kinda look like a butler...

...Oh god, don't tell me...

"Kurosaki-kun, are you done?" I heard Hanekawa-san calling me through the door.

"Y-Yeah!"

"Well then, please make me dinner, and after that give me a full body massage~!"

Gah! I knew it, she wanted a butler. It's a good thing I know how to cook.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

When I transported back to the club room, I was completely exhausted, physically and mentally. Who knew butlers had it so rough? The cooking part was okay, she found the donburi I made delicious, but the massage nearly killed me. I had to suppress a huge blush as I gave her a massage. Well, I got the contract, at least.

"Ichigo, are you okay?" Rias asked me out of concern when she saw me.

"Y-Yeah... I think so."

I turned to look at Yuuto, who gave me a sympathetic gaze.

"Yuuto, you have to do that all the time?"

He nodded.

"Unfortunately so."

"...You really have my respect for being able to endure that."

"It's the curse of being 'Casanovas' as the boys in our school would call us."

We patted each other's backs and let out identical sighs.

And with that horrendous ordeal, my first official job as a devil came to an end.

* * *

Life 1: "My life as a devil begins." End

* * *

Can't you just feel the bromance in the air?

Sorry if this chapter seemed substandard, I'm going on a 3 day camp tomorrow, so I rushed this chapter in a day.

As always, please read & review.

I'll see you guys next chapter.


	3. Life 2: I make and lose a friend

Ugh, even though my exams are over, I still have a project to do that's gonna last till the end of November, so updates are gonna be slow.

To answer reviewers' questions,

Spider-Man999 & alternativefuturefan27: Don't worry, he'll appear sooner or later.

NIX'S WARDEN: With the boost in his power, he'll probably be slightly weaker than Yamamoto in Shikai, but with Boosted Gear, he has the potential to become stronger than all but the Divine Dragons.

Daemonizzed: Yes, he still has his hollow powers and he will use them at some point, though it won't be any time soon because there aren't any enemies at this point in the story that can push him that far.

eoinreidy: That doesn't mean he can't use Fullbring anymore.

Bunny153539: It's a reference to the fight between Ichigo and Kenpachi. In one episode, there was a scene where Kenpachi caught Zangetsu barehanded, lifted Ichigo into the air and thrust his sword at him. Ichigo dodged in midair and Kenpachi only cut his Shihakusho. Ichigo then kicked Kenpachi's hand to force him to let go of Zangetsu.

Guest Zero & Soul King of D: Yes, Kuroka is in the harem. I'm pretty sure it's canon anyway.

Alright then, without further ado, let the chapter begin.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

It's only been a few days since my first contract and it's only gotten worse since then. So far, all of my clients have been high school girls and their requests are only getting more and more outrageous. Cooking for them, letting them sit on my lap while they watch TV, massaging them, an oil massage, giving them a bath, JOINING them in the bath. I think there was even one who asked me to pop her cherry. Naturally, I refused. She pouted for a while, but signed the contract in the end. Anyway, it's been a really long day. My client today didn't let up on me at all. Going to Urahara-san's new store for training didn't help either.

_(Flashback start)_

"_The key to Kido is control. With your abnormally large reiryoku reserve and rather terrible control, it is unlikely you will be able to cast any Kido except for the highest level ones. Right now, I will teach you a high level Hado of your choosing. But expect reiryoku control exercises in the future." Tessai-san instructed me while Urahara-san watched. We were in the underground training area, which I can't figure out how Urahara-san had managed to construct in under a week._

"_Understood. Then, I would like to learn Kurohitsugi."_

"_Ah, Aizen's favoritespell. A strong but taxing Hado. The incantation goes like this: 'Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!' Commit this incantation to memory. Recite it until you are able to repeat it perfectly in your mind. Now then, try to cast it. I do not expect you to be able to succeed on the first try though."_

_Concentrating only on that incantation, I held out my hand and pictured a black circle in my mind and imagined moving towards it._

"_Seeping crest of turbidity. Arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness! Hado no.90, Kurohitsugi!"_

_I felt reiryoku burst forth from me and a black void appeared in front of me. When it dispersed, only a smooth crater remained of the ground in front of me. Fatigue slowly seeped into my body. It felt I just threw a dozen Getsugas in one shot._

"_Well done, Kurosaki-dono. That was excellent for a first attempt. Though you expended far more reiryoku than was needed for a full power Kurohitsugi."_

"_Tessai-san, Ganju once told me that his Kido shortcut can be used for all Kido. If that is the case, then how is a specific Kido formed?"_

"_That is the purpose of the incantation. The incantation molds the reiryoku in your body such that when it exits, a specific Kido is cast."_

"_Then how does an incantationless Kido work?"_

"_An incantationless Kido is a high level skill that requires you to memorize the way the reiryoku is molded by the incantation in your body, and then reproduce that same molding by yourself without the aid of an incantation. The Kido can be cast instantly, but at the cost of a large portion of its power. Kurosaki-dono, I must stress that you do not attempt to cast an incantationlessKurohitsugi. Continue practicing with the incantation, try to reduce the reiryoku you use for it, train your reiryoku control and familiarize yourself with the flow of reiryoku on your body before attempting incantationless Kido."_

"_Understood."_

"_Well then, Kurosaki-san, let's get started on summoning your Zanpakuto, shall we? Of course, to do that, a good level of control over your reiryoku is needed, so today, we'll just be doing control exercises. First, try to climb this cliff wall. Without your hands."_

"_...Excuse me?"_

"_Mold reiryoku to your feet and you will be able to stick to the cliff wall." The amusement in his smile is really unnerving._

_I did as he said and raised my foot to the cliff wall. Surprisingly, it really did stick. With enthusiasm, I pumped more reiryoku to my feet and started running up the cliff wall. Then I heard him yell from below._

"_Kurosaki-san, I should warn you, if you use too much reiryoku-" He didn't get a chance to finish, because at that moment, I went flying off the cliff wall, creating a small hole where my feet was, while my body was launched backwards._

"_...That will happen." I heard Urahara-san conclude his sentence. Dammit Hats-n-Clogs, couldn't you have said that sooner!?_

_By the time I landed, I was quite a distance from the cliff wall and had to use Bringer Light to reach it. I really wanted to punch him, if only to wipe that amused smirk off his face._

"_Do you see now? Too little reiryoku and your feet will not stick. Too much reiryoku and you'll be sent flying. Not as simple as it seems, right? Which is why this exercise is best for training your control. Now then, please carry on until you can reach the top of the cliff."_

_Needless to say, I flew through the air several times that day._

_(Flashback end)_

...Yeah, my training didn't go too well. My whole body is sore after flying off and slamming back into the ground so many times. It's already pretty late in the evening, I just want to go home, take a nice, long shower, do my homework and go to bed.

Of course, with Murphy's Law in effect, that wasn't to be.

" Hawaa!" I heard that weird cry, along with the sound of something falling down behind me. When I turned to look, I saw a Sister lying face down on the road, with her arms sprawled out. Damn, that must have hurt.

"O-Oi, are you okay?" I bent down and offered my hand to her.

"Hauuu...Why do I keep falling over...Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you very much."

Judging from her voice, she's about my age. I took her hand and pulled her up.

-FWOOSH-

The wind blew the veil off of her head. Her blond hair that was hidden beneath falls into view. The sunlight is actually reflecting on her hair, making it look like it was sparkling. Then I took notice of her face. Green eyes, not unlike Toshiro's, but not exactly the same shade either. Her features were not Japanese, more European. She had an innocent expression on her face, very much like Yuzu, and I was struck by the slight resemblance between them.

"Ummm... Is something wrong?" She took notice of my staring.

"Ah, sorry. You look a bit like my sister, so I was a bit surprised."

She has a small travelling bag with her. I picked up her veil that had fallen to the ground and asked, "Are you travelling?"

"No, that's not it. I was appointed to the church in this town. You must be one of the residents. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Appointment to the church here, huh?Sounds like she's got it pretty tough.

"I was troubled when I got here... Ummm, I can't speak Japanese very well... I was lost and people couldn't understand what I was saying."

So she can't speak fluent Japanese. In other words, the reason I'm able to hear her speak fluently is because of 'Language'.

'Language' is an ability that all devils possess. When others speak to me in another language, it is automatically perceived by me to be in the language that I'm most familiar with, which is Japanese. Likewise, when I speak Japanese, others will perceive it in the language that they are most familiar with. Perfect speech, it's like s dream come true for students taking languages.

Well, I wouldn't have had a problem with speaking other languages in the first place, but 'Language' also removes my Japanese accent, allowing me to speak in other languages perfectly. When that eccentric English teacher asked me to read a paragraph, everyone was stunned to hear perfect English flowing from my mouth. After a few seconds, the teacher started crying tears of joy and the girls went 'Kyaaa!' Again. Predictably, I cringed when they did that.

But 'Language' won't affect text, which means that words written or typed out are still perceived in their original language, though this doesn't really mean anything to me. Somehow, whenever I get that perfect score on my languages pop quiz, I feel like I cheated.

Well, all that aside...

"The church, right? I think I know where it is."

"You do!? Thank you! Meeting such a kind person must be God's grace!" She clasped her hands and started praying.

There's an old church in the outskirts of this town, but from what Buchou told me, it's been abandoned for years and is now the base of operations for...

...Uh-oh.

"Ummm. Are you sure you have the correct place? There's only one church here, and I don't think it's in operation."

"Yes, I'm quite sure that it's this town."

"All right, if you say so..."

This means that she's in league with that Fallen Angel. But I don't sense any malice coming from this girl. Which means she probably doesn't have any idea what she's getting into.

Buchou warned me not to go near the church, but I think getting in a bit of reconnaissance is a good idea.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

While walking to the Church, we went past the park.

"Uwaaaaah!"

I heard a boy crying nearby.

"Are you alright, Yoshi-kun?"

Since the boy is with his mom, he should be fine. It seems like he only tripped over, there's a small scrape on his knee, but that would heal quickly. But suddenly, the Sister who was walking behind me turned towards the park.

"Hm?"

She went inside the park and went towards the boy who was still crying. I also followed behind the Sister.

"Are you okay? Boys shouldn't cry with a minor injury like this."

Sister patted the boy's head. The boy probably didn't understand what she was saying, but she had a very kind expression. The Sister put her palm on the boy's wound. The next moment, I was surprised. There was a green light orb that appeared from the Sister's palm and was flashing onto the boy's knee. What's that? Magic?Buchou said that it can only be used by Devils and someone related to Devils. When I looked carefully, the boy's injury started to disappear. Is the light from her hand healing the boy's injury? Two words flashed in my mind. Sacred Gear.A special power which is bestowed upon certain people. When I looked at that light, I could feel my left arm aching. This has to be related. Did my Boosted Gear react with her Sacred Gear? Is it responding to it? When I looked again, the boy's injury was gone. There wasn't even a trace left. Amazing. This is the power of a Sacred Gear... There really are many types and kinds of it... The boy's mother was startled. Anyone who sees unimaginable things will have a similar reaction.

"Here, your wound's healed. The pain should be gone now."

The Sister patted the boy's head and looked at me.

"I'm sorry. But I had to."

She laughed while sticking her tongue out. The boy's mother, who was startled before, shook her head then grabbed the boy's hand so they could leave quickly.

"Thank you, Sister!"

The boy shouted words of gratitude back at us before disappearing from our sight.

"He said, thank you Sister."

She smiled happily after I translated for her.

"That power..."

"Yes, it's the power to heal. It's a special power that God gave me."

She had a sad expression on her face, like that power had caused her some trouble in the past. It probably had, it's human nature to fear and discriminate against those who are different, after all. I probably shouldn't pry.

I probably shouldn't mention I have a Sacred Gear too. Not only is it insensitive, since it's a Longinus Gear, she'll feel compelled to tell her bosses, in other words, the Fallen Angels. It would be pretty troublesome if they came after me again.

But, a Sacred Gear that can heal... Was she called in to help heal Amano Yuuma's severed hand? Looks like things are about to get more troublesome. We continued on until we reached the church. It really is old. But the lights inside are switched on, so Buchou is probably right about this place.

A shudder ran down my spine and small droplets of sweat started to run down my forehead. So this is what Buchou was warning me about. Devils are unable to approach places of faith.

"Yes, this is the place. Thank God!"

She heaved a sigh of relief after having compared our location with the map she had. Damn, I was hoping this wasn't the place. Oh well. I shouldn't stay here any longer. They'll detect my presence if I don't get going now. The church's holy aura was starting to adversely affect me, as though I'm prey being watched by a predator.

"Then I'll be on my way."

"Please wait."

I tried to split away from her, but the her words stopped me.

"I would like to make you some tea..."

"Oh, I'm in a rush so I have to get going."

"But that's..."

She's getting worried. She probably wanted to make me some tea to show her gratitude. But drinking inside here was definitely dangerous. It's a shame, but I have to refuse.

"My name is Kurosaki Ichigo. Just Ichigo is fine. What's your name?"

When I gave her my name, she smiled.

"My name is Asia Argento! Please call me Asia!"

"Then, Asia, let's meet again."

"Yes, Ichigo-san! I will definitely come and see you!"

Asia bowed her head down. I left the place after waving my hand towards her. She looked at me until I was out of her sight. She really is just an innocent girl caught up in this mess. But, I'll definitely find a way to get her out!

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next day, when I stepped into the clubroom, I was immediately reprimanded by Buchou.

"Didn't I already tell you not to go near the church?" She said and sighed.

""To us Devils, the church is an enemy's territory. Just stepping into it can cause a rift between the Devils and God. Since it was an act of kindness, by taking the nun to the church, they didn't harm you. But the Angels are always on the lookout, and you were in a situation where it wouldn't be strange for them to hit you with a Spear of Light." What?

"Buchou, didn't you say the church was abandoned and is now the base of operations for the Fallen Angels? Does God's power still extend there?"

"Yes, all churches have the blessing of God, regardless of whether they're still in use or not."

"More importantly, don't get involved with people from the Church, especially the Exorcists. They are our biggest enemy. They could easily eliminate us because their powers are supported by the prayer of God. More so if it is an Exorcist with a Sacred Gear. That would be the same as standing on the boundary of death, Ichigo."

"You could avoid death while in a human body if you are resurrected as a devil. But if you are killed as a devil, there's no way to save you, your soul will definitely have to pass on to Soul Society. Do you understand the implications of this?"

Ugh, that'll be bad. I didn't give up my humanity only to be killed a few days later.

Buchou sighed, "I'm sorry, I got too heated. Anyway, be careful from now on."

"Yes."

"Araara, are you finished lecturing him?"

I noticed Akeno-san enter the room earlier, though I didn't say anything. She was smiling as usual.

"Akeno, did something happen?"

Akeno-san's expression became serious when she heard Buchou's question.

"We've received an order for a hunt from the Archduke."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Stray Devils?"

"Yes. A Devil who was turned into a Servant of a Devil with a Peerage but betrayed or killed their master. Cases like that often occur. Devils are incredibly powerful. You can't even compare it to the time when you were human. There are those who choose to use that power for their own self-interests. Those Devils leave their master's place and rampage across the surrounding area. That is a "Stray Devil". In other words, a dogs causes trouble. When found, the master or other Devils are ordered to eliminate them. That is the law of the Devils. Even others, such as Angels and Fallen Angels, see them as a threat and they would eliminate the Exiled Devil whenever found. There is nothing scarier than a Devil who is not bound by any rule or limitation." Yuuto explained to me.

I went to the unused building located at the outer part of the town along with Buchou, Akeno-san,Yuuto and Koneko. Every night, an Exiled Devil is luring humans to the building so as to feed on them. As such, there was a request from the high-class Devils to hunt them.

[It has escaped to the territory of RiasGremory, so I would like to ask you to eliminate it.]

Apparently, this is also one of the jobs of a Devil. Eating a human... Buchou said it was frowned upon in the Devil's society, so there are still Devils who go against that and devour humans?

Yeah, truly a Devil...

It's midnight and it's a world of darkness. There's a lot of tall grass surrounding me, and I can see the unused building far away from here. It's one of the Devils' traits to have a clear view at night.

...! This smell is...!

"Smell of blood..."

I covered my nose with my uniform after Koneko-chan spoke. Yeah, that tangy scent is definitely blood. Even so, I can only detect it because of my inner Hollow's presence. Koneko's sense of smell is really exceptional.

It became quiet. I could feel the presence of an enemy in front of us, and its intent to kill us was impressive. Of course, it's nothing compared to the enemies I've faced in the past 2 who was up at the front put her hands on her hips.

"Ichigo, this is the best time to show the abilities of the Evil Pieces. There's no need for you to participate in the battle." She turned to me.

"Devils with Peerage decide to use the traits of the human's game "Chess" to their Servant Devils. It was sarcasm, because most of the Servants are Devils that were reincarnated from humans. Since then, Chess became a popular game in the world of the Devils. We'll leave that aside. Devils who are masters are a "King". In our case, that is me. From there, they created 5 special traits that consist of Queen, Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn. Since they couldn't make an army, they decided to have a small number of Devils and give them enormous powers. This system was made in the past few hundred years, and this unexpectedly became popular amongst Devils with Peerage."

"Popular? You mean the Evil Piece system?"

"They started to compete against each other. For example like, "My Knight is stronger!", or "No, my Rook is stronger!" As a result, high-class Devils started to play a game like that of Chess against each other using their Servant Devils. We call it the "Rating Game". Anyway, this game became very popular amongst the Devils. Now, there are even tournaments for it. The strength of their "Pieces" and also how strong they are at the game affects the Devils' social position, and their Peerage. There is a thing called "Piece Collect" where they gather humans with talents and make them into their Pieces. It is very popular recently. Talented Servants become their status."

I see. So having a high ranking in that game means that you are a splendid Devil. It also becomes your pride then. So we Servant Devils are Pieces in the game. In other words, someday, I'll have to participate in this 'Rating Game' too.

"Well, I'm not a matured Devil yet, so I can't participate in a formal tournament. Even if I could, there are things that I need to go through, or else I can't play. In short, Ichigo and my Servants here won't be participating in a game for a while."

"So does that mean that Yuuto and the others haven't played in that game yet?"

"That's right."Yuuto confirmed.

"Then, Buchou, you mentioned that I'm a Pawn who used up all 8 pieces, right? What are the traits of the Pawn?"

"The trait of a Pawn is-"

Buchou stopped there. The murderous intent in the room grew stronger as the sound of giant footsteps grew louder. There is something approaching us.

"I can smell something disgusting. But I can also smell something delicious. Is it sweet? Or is it sour?"

A low voice reverberated within the entire room, making it impossible to discern where it's coming from. By the voice alone that is. The murderous intent is most concentrated in front of us, in other words, that's where the enemy is.

"Stray Devil Vaizor. We are here to eliminate you."

"Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa..."

The weird laughter echoes around us. This isn't the laugh of a human. It's also not the laugh of the Devils that I've met so far. From the shadows, something showed up. It was a topless woman. But the woman's body was floating in midair. No, the footsteps grew closer and stopped. What appeared was the body of a gigantic beast. It was a grotesque being with an unnatural form having a woman's upper body and the lower body of a monster. It was holding something that looks like a spear in both of its hands. The lower body of the monster had four fat legs with sharp claws and a snake tail. From the size of it, it is definitely more than 5 meters tall. Disgusting, even the Arrancars' Resurreccion and the Vandereich'sVollstandig weren't this hideous. So there are Devils like this too?

"Leaving your master's side, and rampaging as you please definitely deserves death. In the name of Duke Gremory, I will gladly eliminate you!"

"You are cunning for a little girl! I will rip your body and color it in red just like your hair!"

The monster was barking, but Buchou just laughed with her nose.

"You speak in a stylish manner. Yuuto!"

"Yes!"

Yuuto moved towards Vaizor with incredible speed, pulling his sword of the sheath.

"Ichigo, continuing the lecture about the traits of the Evil Pieces..."

"Uh huh?"

"As I told you before, Yuuto is a Knight. The trait of the Knight Piece is speed. Those who become a Knight will have an increase in their speed.

Now that I think about it, Yuuto's speed is increasing. Though it's still at a speed that I can follow without any problem, the same can't be said for Vaizor who's looking around in confusion. She randomly swung her spear all over the place, but she didn't even come close to hitting Yuuto.

"And the weapons that Yuuto is best at using, as you can probably already tell, are swords."

"Gyaaaaaaaah!"Yuuto severed Vaizor's arms in two quick movements. Blood spurted out of the wound.

Then a shadow appeared near Vaizor's feet. It's Koneko.

"Next is Koneko, my Rook. The trait of a Rook Piece is..."

-BAM-

Vaizor stamped down on Koneko with her giant foot, but the foot didn't touch the ground. Don't tell me…

Vaizor's foot was pushed back and sent flying by Koneko. What the hell is with that Kenpachi level physical strength!?

"The trait of a Rook is simple. Absolute strength and incredible defense. A Devil of that caliber can't do a thing against that power."

"Fly…"

Koneko jumped up and nailed Vaizor in the stomach. I winced when I heard the sound of bones cracking. Vaizor was sent flying backwards by the force of the punch.

"Lastly, Akeno."

Akeno-san started laughing as she walked towards Vaizor, who was struggling to stand up after getting hit by Koneko.

"Akeno is my Queen, the strongest in the club after you and me. The Queen's trait is the combined traits of the Rook, Bishop, Knight and Pawn Pieces."

"Guguuuuuu….." Vaizor glared at Akeno-san, who laughed fearlessly in response.

"Araara, it seems like you still have plenty of life left in you. Then, how about this?"

Akeno-san raised her hands towards the ceiling. What's she doing? I got my answer a second later.

-FLASH-

The ceiling sparkled, and a bolt of lightning came down and struck Vaizor.

"Gyaaaaaaaaaa!"

Vaizor screamed as she received the electric shock. Her body was charred and smoke started to come out of her.

"Araara, it seems that you're still quite energetic. Looks like you can take some more!"

-FLASH-

Another bolt of lightning struck Vaizor.

"Gwaaaaaaaah!"

Akeno-san's face showed an expression of cold glee as Vaizor screamed again. Is she…enjoying this?

"Akeno excels at magical attacks. She can use natural elements like fire, ice and lightning and so on. Most of all, she's the ultimate sadist."

Buchou commented nonchalantly. Oioi, I've seen my fair share of sadists, but for some reason, they're scarier when they're women, and an ally.

"Usually, she's quite a kind person, but once a battle starts, she can't calm down until it's over."

I shivered.

"Buchou, that laughter is starting to scare me a bit…"

"Ara, there's nothing to be scared of. Akeno is very kind to comrades. She even said that you were cute. She will definitely spoil you."

...Somehow, the idea of being liked by a sadist only terrifies me even more.

"Fufufufufufu. How much of my lightning can you take, Monster-san? You still can't die yet. The one who finishes you off will be my master. Ohohohoh!"

...I rest my case.

For the next few minutes, Akeno-san kept striking Vaizor with bolts of lightning. When she finally stopped and calmed down, Buchou approached Vaizor who had already lost the will to fight. Buchou raised her hand towards her.

"Any last words?"

"Kill me."

That was the only thing that Vaizor said.

"Is that so? Then, die quietly." A giant black ball of magical energy shot out from Buchou's hand, big enough to completely engulf Vaizor's body. Vaizor's body was absorbed into the ball, and when it disappeared, nothing remained of Vaizor. Buchou sighed.

"It's over. Good work everyone."

Buchou said that to us. Everyone lost their tension. The hunt is over. So this is a Devil's fight. To be honest, it's not that much different from Hollow hunting. That's when I remembered the conversation from before.

"Buchou, continuing where we left off, what's the trait of the Pawn Piece?"

"The trait of the Pawn Piece is 'Promotion'. Just like how pawn pieces in chess can be promoted to other pieces other than the king when it reaches the opponent's side, 'Promotion' allows you to 'promote' to a Knight, Bishop, Rook or Queen Piece. Just like in chess, you can only use this ability when in enemy territory in a Rating Game, or when I, the King, give you permission outside of a Rating Game. Of course, the Pieces that you promote to are not usually as powerful as the actual Pieces, that weakness can be overcome with proper training."

"Whoa, that's a pretty scary ability… Hm? Come to think of it, Buchou, you don't seem to have a Bishop yet…"

Buchou grimaced when I mentioned the Bishop Piece.

"…Actually, I do have a Bishop. But because of my inexperience, and his inability to control his power, the higher-ups ordered for him to be sealed."

"Sealed?"

"On the ground floor, there's a room that you could peer into and that had magic seals carved into the door, right? That's where he is. He makes contracts with clients over the internet and is our biggest earner."

Now that I think about it, I always pass by a room with that description on my way up to the club room. I asked Yuuto about it once, but he immediately changed the subject. So the reason is that Bishop, huh? Just how dangerous is his power that he needed to be sealed?

"Then, what's the trait of the Bishop Piece?"

"The trait of the Bishop Piece is high magical capabilities. Because of that, Bishops are usually Wizard types or Support Types that have very little close combat capabilities."

Wizard Type? Support Type? Is that another form of classification in a Rating Game? When Yuuto saw the confused expression on my face, he explained, "There are four categories that participants in a Rating Game are placed into: Power, Technique, Wizard and Support. You are a Power and Technique Type, I'm a Technique Type, Buchou and Fuku-Buchouare Wizard Types and Koneko-chan is a Power Type. Among all of us, you are the only one who is classified in two categories. In a Rating Game, you would definitely be the trump card. But because of that, you'll probably be targeted from the start."

I see, so we are classified according to our fighting styles. True, with my swordsmanship and raw power, I would be a Power/Technique Type. Yuuto also possesses high level swordsmanship, but does not have the same power as me, so he would be a pure Technique Type. Buchou and Akeno-san seem to rely on magical attacks, so they are Wizard Types and Koneko possesses incredible physical strength, hnce she's a Power Type. Though now that I'm learning Kido, if I can master it, I can probably be classified as a Wizard Type too. Looks like things will become even more complicated once we start participating in the Rating Game.

Just like that, thinking about our future as participants in the Rating Game, the day ended.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next day, steeling my heart for the next contract, I was transported to my client's home, and I immediately knew something was wrong.

The lights were out, not just in this room, the entire apartment was pitch black. Thanks to my Devil's sight, I could still see clearly. And this smell in the air...

...Blood. There's a lot of it. It's coming from the living room.

"Boosted Gear." I whispered so that I wouldn't attract any attention. I pulled my badge out of my pocket and held it in my hand, just in case. Slowly, I crept towards the living room.

The smell of blood grew stronger and started to irritate my nose. Then I was greeted by a grotesque sight. A girl's corpse was nailed to the wall, and it looked like it had been sliced up. Intestines were slowly falling out of the cut across her stomach. Her face was disfigured beyond recognition. There were English words on the wall: Punishment for those who sinned. This looked like a crucifixion.

"Ugh...!" I covered my mouth to stop the bile from coming out. Even I had never seen something this disgusting before. Then I felt the presence of someone behind me.

"Well, well! If it isn't a Devil-kun!" I turned to see a white-haired foreign boy in his late teens wearing a priest outfit.

"A priest?"

"That's right! I'm a boy priest who cuts down Devils like you for a living! And I laugh while cutting off the heads of you Devils! Lalalalalala!" He started to sing.

"My name is Freed Zelzan. I belong to a certain Exorcism group. Oh, just because I introduced myself, you don't need to introduce yourself. Please don't. Because remembering a Devil's name is a waste of my memory. It's okay. You are going to die soon. I will make sure of it. It might hurt at first, but later you will feel so good that you will cry. Now let's open the new door!"

I calmed down and summoned Blade of Bonds.

"I wasn't going to tell you my name in the first place. There's no point telling my name to someone who's about to die." I leapt at him and while he was surprised at my speed, I cut him across his chest.

"Gh!" He grunted and pulled out a bladeless hilt. Then a beam of light appeared from it. A sword of light?

"Well well, looks like this Devil's got some skills!" I swung my sword at him and he parried with that sword of light. Then I raised my armored fist and punched hard in the face. He went flying backwards and crashed into the wall. I leapt at him again, but he grinned insanely and pulled out a gun and shot at me. I turned in midair just in time to avoid a bullet that just grazed my cheek.

"Ugh..!" My cheek started burning.

"Solidified light bullets, huh?"

"That's right! How does it feel!? The pain really turns you on, doesn't it!?" Not just insane, apparently a masochist too.

I rushed at him again and cut the barrel of his gun, rendering it unable to fire. I swung my sword down, but he parried again.

"So you're the one who killed that girl?"

"Yes. Yes, I killed her. Because she was a regular criminal who has been summoning Devils. So I had to kill her."

What kind of fucked up reasoning is that!?

"Huh? Are you shocked? That's weird. I mean, humans who makes a pact with Devils are scum. Scum indeed. Can't you understand that? No? Is that so? Well you are scum, Devil."

"To hell with you! A priest killing a Devil, I can understand. But to kill another human and laugh about it...!"

"Huh? What the fuck is that? A Devil like yourself lecturing me? Hahaha. I will laugh at this. You probably could get a reward for being funny. Okay then. Listen carefully you shitty Devil. Devils use humans' greed to survive. If you live by making a pact with a Devil, then you are no longer a human. It's the end. That's why I killed her. I make a living by killing Devils and those that are contracted to a Devil. That's my job."

"Even Devils won't go this far!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Devils are trash. It's common sense. Didn't you know? Seriously, you should start your life back from a toddler. Wait, it's useless to tell this to a reincarnated Devil like you. More like, I have to kill you. Hahahaha. It's awesome, isn't it?"

I gritted my teeth and pushed my sword with even more strength, knocking him off his feet.

"Getsuga Tensho!" I launched my signature technique at him. He jumped out of the way and the wave of black and red smashed into the wall, causing it to explode into rubble and obscure my vision. Shit!

I felt a searing pain across my back and knew that damn priest had finally cut me. I turned and swung my sword and slashed behind me, catching him by surprise and cutting his left arm, the one holding the broken gun. We backed away from each other.

"Please stop!"

Then there was a familiar voice. Both of us froze in our positions and looked at the source of the voice. A girl was there, and I knew her.

"Asia."

Yes, the blond sister was there.

"Well if it isn't my assistant, Asia-chan. What happened? Did you finish putting the barrier?" Assistant? Then, this insane priest is an ally of that Fallen Angel? That's weird,Buchou said the Angels and Fallen Angels hate each other's guts, why would a priest be in league with an enemy?

"No..nooooooo!"

Asia screamed after looking at the corpse that was nailed to the wall.

"Thank you for the adorable scream! Oh yeah, this is your first time seeing a corpse like this, isn't it, Asia-chan? Then look carefully. This is the fate of humans that are entranced by a Devil."

"No, no..."

She then looked at us and was astonished to see me.

"Father Freed...that person..."

Asia looked at me directly.

"Person? No, no. This shit here is a Devil. Hahahahaha. What are you misunderstanding?"

"Ichigo-san is a Devil..." She was stunned by that revelation and didn't know what to say. Damn, I didn't want her to find out like this.

"What, what? You guys know each other? Wow. Now this is a big surprise. Is it the forbidden love between a Devil and a Sister? Seriously? Are you serious? "

Freed, the priest, looked at both Asia and I.

"Ahahahaha! Devils and humans can never coexist! Especially humans that are from the Church for whom Devils are the biggest enemies! Also, we are a group of heresy that was deserted by God. Asia and I are humans that can't survive without the support of Fallen Angels."

Fallen Angel? What does he mean? Don't priests and nuns work under God?

"Anyways I don't actually care about that. But I need to kill this trash here to finish my job. Are you ready?"

The priest thrusts his sword toward me again. I readied my own sword to parry that attack, but Asia stepped between the priest and I. She stood in front of me with her arms spread as if she was protecting me. The priest's expression changed after seeing this.

"Hey, hey... Are you serious? Asia-tan, do you know what you are doing?"

"Yes, Father Freed. I do. I beg you, please forgive this person. Please let him go."

I was left speechless after hearing her. Asia is trying to protect me?

"I can't stand it anymore... You can't kill people just because they are entranced to a Devil. You also can't kill Devils. It's wrong!"

"Haaaaaaaaah!? Don't talk shit, bitch! You learnt that Devils are trashes at Church! Seriously, you have a screw loose in your brain!"

The one with a screw loose is you!

"There are good people, even among Devils!"

"There aren't, moron!"

"That's what I thought until recently... But Ichigo-san is a good person. That fact doesn't change even after I found out that he is a Devil! Killing someone is unforgivable! God won't allow such acts!"

She saw that mutilated corpse. She found out that I'm a Devil. She should be shocked. But Asia isn't backing down when telling her beliefs to the priest. What a strong willed girl.

SLAP.

"Kya!"

That crazy priest hit Asia to the side with his gun. Asia fell to the ground.

"Asia!"

I went to Asia who was struck away. There's a bruise mark on her face... That bastard actually hit her.

"The Fallen Angel girl insisted that I don't kill you. But I'm getting a bit pissed. I can't kill you, but maybe I can rape you? If I don't, I won't be able to heal my heart. But before that, I need to kill that trash over there." When I heard his words, a cold rage filled my mind and I released a burst of my reiatsu, enough to cause him to freeze in place.

…I'm gonna kill this guy!

I raised my sword and gathered as much reiryoku as I could. I'm gonna make sure there's nothing left of this guy…!

"Getsuga…!" That damn priest jumped at me, raising his sword over his head…and the floor started glowing with a blue light.

"What the-" The priest had a look of confusion on his face, and the blue light started to form the magic circle of the Gremory Clan. Oh, backup's here.

The magic circle shone brightly and my comrades appeared.

"Hey, we're here to back you up, Ichigo."

Yuuto smiled at me.

"Ara ara, how horrible."

"…Priest."

Akeno-san and Koneko too! Everyone came here to help!?

"Wowooooof! Here's a present for this group of Devils!"

The priest swung his sword at me.

-KACHING-

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the room. Yuuto and I had raised our swords to block his.

"Sorry, but this one is our precious comrade, so we can't let you lay a finger on him!" I appreciate that, but if any of the girls in our school heard that, they would start squealing.

"Wow! A touching word coming out from a Devil! What are you guys? Devil Rangers? That's nice. I can feel the heat. I'm getting turned on! So how is it? Are you the one doing it? Is he the one bending? So are you guys in this kind of relationship?"

We were exchanging swords but the priest was full of himself sticking his tongue out. He was shaking his tongue along with his head. That guy is completely looking down on us! Even Kiba had an anguished expression. Yeah, that guy is definitely disgusting.

"What a vulgar mouth... It's hard to believe you are a priest... Oh, that's why you are an 'Exiled Exorcist', right?"

"Yes, yes! I'm vulgar! I'm sorry about that! Because I'm an Exiled! I was kicked out! That's why, screw the Vatican! I'm alright as long as I get to cut Devils whenever I feel like it!" Ah, so he was banished from the Church. That explains why he's working with a Fallen Angel. Then, it's the same for Asia?

We were still exchanging swords. Kiba had a calm expression, but his eyes had already captured his foe. The crazy priest, Freed, was still laughing and enjoying the fight.

"You are the type that is the most hard to deal with. Someone who feels like they are living by cutting Devils... To us, the most harmful type."

"Haaah!? I don't want to be told off by a Devil! I'm trying to live now just like other people! I'm not in a position where pests like you can talk down to me!"

"Even Devils have rules."

Akeno-san was smiling, but her eyes were serious. She was showing a strong murderous intent towards Freed.

"Nice. I like those passionate eyes. Big sis, you are amazing. I can feel your urge of wanting to kill me. Is this love? No. I think it's a killing intent! Superb! This is great! I love the feeling of intending to kill and getting intended to kill!"

"Then disappear."

The person who appeared on my side was a crimson-haired girl. Buchou...!

"Ichigo, I'm sorry. I never expected the Exorcist will visit this client's house."

Buchou, who was apologizing to me, narrowed her eyes after seeing the cut on my back.

"Ichigo...Did you get wounded?"

"Ah, sorry... My vision got blocked and he took the chance to cut me."

I laughed it off. The wound wasn't really that serious anyway. But Buchou didn't say anything to me and looked at the priest with a cold expression.

"Looks like you have been looking after my cute servant?"

Her voice was low and sounded scary. Wow, Buchou is pissed. Am I the reason?

"Yes, yes. I have been playing around with him. I was planning to cut his body all over but I was interrupted. It finished as if it was a dream."

BANG!

The sofa behind the priest was blown away. It was Buchou. Buchou shot out a ball of magic.

"I will never forgive those who harm my servants. I especially can't forgive a lowlife like you damaging my personal possessions."

The force of her anger created an incredible tension. Waves of magical energy swirled around Buchou.

"Buchou!, there seems to be a group of Fallen Angels heading to this house. Fighting them will draw too much attention!"

The Fallen Angels are approaching? Shit. They won't have any problem destroying the surroundings if we fight. Buchou gave another stare at the priest.

"...Akeno, prepare the transport. We're returning to our headquarters."

"Yes."

Akeno-san started to cast a spell as soon as Buchou urged her to. Tactical retreat, huh? Then I remembered Asia, who was still on the floor.

"Buchou! We have to take her as well!"

I said that to Buchou.

"It's impossible. Only Devils can use the magic circle to transport. Also, this magic circle can only transport me and my servants."

You gotta be kidding me...! I can't leave her with that crazy priest! My eyes and Asia's eyes met. She just smiled at me.

"Asia!"

"Ichigo-san, let's meet again."

That was the last she said to me before Akeno-san completed the spell and the magic circle started glowing.

"Like I'll let you escape!"

The crazy priest jumped at us, but Koneko-chan threw a sofa at him. By the time the priest sliced the sofa with his sword, we were already transported to the club room. I didn't have the time to think about the impression of my first real battle as a Devil. I only remembered the smile Asia gave me last.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"There are two types of Exorcists."

I was listening to Buchou's explanation while having the cut across my back healed.

"The first are the Exorcists who receives the blessing from God to perform exorcism in the name of justice. This group borrows its power from God and Angels. And the other ones are called the 'Exiled Exorcists'."

"Exiled?"

Buchou nodded at my question.

"Exorcism is a holy ceremony that is performed in the name of God. But sometimes, there are Exorcists who start to enjoy killing Devils. Killing Devils become their purpose in life and it becomes their entertainment. So they get kicked out from the Church without exception. Or they get erased for being found guilty."

"Erased...So they're executed."

"There are still some who survive and escape. What do you think they do? Simple, they join the Fallen Angels." I guess I can see the link. Angels who were banished from Heaven. Exorcists exiled from the Church. They're really alike.

Even though Fallen Angels are beings that were kicked out from the heaven, they still have the power of light, which can kill Devils. The Fallen Angels also lost a lot of their comrades and their men in the previous war. That's why they started to collect servants, just like us."

Oh, I see.

"So the Fallen Angels and the Exorcists who loved killing Devils banded together for the same objective. Killing the Devils, right?"

"Yes, that's exactly it. That's why they are called "Exiled Exorcists". Some dangerous Exorcists who became addicted to Devil-hunts started to attack Devils and humans with connections to Devils by borrowing powers from the Fallen Angels. So the boy priest from before is exactly like that. He is an "Exiled Exorcist" and he is in a certain group with Fallen Angels supporting them. They are not proper Exorcists, but they are still dangerous like the proper ones. No, since they have no restrictions, they are harder to deal with. It's not smart to deal with them. So, the church you went to before does not belong to God but to the Fallen Angels."

I knew they were a threat...Even though he was a human, with that damn sword and gun, they could pose a threat to even me, whose weakness as a Devil is light. But...if that's the case, then all the more...!

"Buchou! I need to save that girl, Asia!"

"It's impossible. How will you pull it off? You are a Devil and she is a servant of Fallen Angels. It's the two kinds that cannot coexist. Saving her means making the Fallen Angels your enemies. If that happened, we would also have to fight..."

"..."

I had nothing left to say. If I went, then Buchou and the others would get involved because of my actions. I would be fine, but Buchou and the others are nowhere near as strong as me. There's the possibility that they'll be killed. But if I don't do anything, then Asia will definitely suffer at the hands of that crazy priest and the Fallen Angels.

...When did I become this weak again? Not being able to save a single girl...

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

I slumped into a bench in the park and sighed. The cut on my back had not completely healed yet, so Buchou told me to call in sick to the school. When I told Ishida and the others about my encounter with Freed, they got worried and wanted to come over to help, but I told them it was unnecessary and that they should concentrate on their schoolwork. It wouldn't be right if they had to neglect their own studies to help me.

What should I do now? I could go over to Urahara-san's shop to train. I've mostly memorized the flow of reiryoku in my body when casting Kurohitsugi, so I can probably start working on an incantationless one. My reiryoku control is also a lot better than before. I can walk up the cliff wall without stopping, though now Urahara-san wants me to walk down the cliff wall too.

Or I could go into my inner world to train with Zangetsu and Ddraige. Training with Zangetsu helps me familiarize with my sword and would make it much easier to wield in my body. Ddraige also says he wants me to train until I reach Balance Breaker, saying that I have the highest talent among all of his possessors and would be a waste not to make use of that talent.

-RUMBLE-

...Or I could get some lunch. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast. A cheeseburger with a chocolate milkshake sounds good.

I stood up from the bench and saw a flash of gold. I looked closely and saw a familiar blonde-haired girl. She noticed me and had a look of shock on her face.

"...Asia?"

"Ichigo-san..?"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Auuuuuuu..."

It was a strange and rather amusing sight. A nun was getting confused in front of the register.

"Ummm, what would you like to order...?"

Even the employee was troubled. It was lunchtime and I took Asia to a fast food restaurant in a business district. It seemed like she never came to this kind of place before, so she was having a hard time choosing her meal. I offered to help, but she said proudly, "It's fine, I will manage somehow", so I have been watching her the whole time... Thinking about it, she couldn't speak Japanese. So I helped her.

"Sorry. She will have the same order as me."

"Okay."

The employee took the order. Asia on the other hand was shocked.

"Ouuuu, I'm ashamed. I can't even buy a single hamburger by myself..."

"Well, first you have to get used to Japanese."

I tried to encourage her because she was feeling down. We moved to an empty table as soon as we got our meals. While we were moving inside the restaurant, most of the male customers were looking at Asia. It was because she is a nun, but also because she looks quite beautiful. Well, any guy would look at her if they saw her. We sat opposite each other, but Asia was taking a really good look at the hamburger and wasn't eating it. More like, she didn't know how to eat it.

"You eat by taking off the wrap like this."

"There's actually a way to eat like that!? Amazing!"

That's quite a reaction.

"...You also eat the fries like this."

"Oh my!"

Asia was looking at me eating the fries with a very interested look.

"No, no. You should eat too, Asia."

"Ah, yes."

She took a small bite of the burger. She then started chewing it.

"It's delicious! This burger is very delicious!"

She said it with her eyes shining. What do you normally eat?

"You never ate a burger before?"

"Yes, that's right. I have seen it often on television, but it's my first time eating it. I'm moved! It's delicious!"

"Wow. So what do you normally eat?"

"Mainly bread and soup. I also eat salad and pasta."

Such simple food. Is life in the Church like that?

"Is that so? So eat it leisurely then."

"Yes. I will eat it with joy."

She started eating it, and Asia seemed to like it very much. But why was she in that park? She said that she had time off, but it seemed like she was running away from something. When she saw me, she seemed relieved. I wanted to ask her but that would be prying. I should wait till she feels like telling me. There is also the matter of Buchou and the others. But I can't tell her that. Oh well, since she is enjoying eating her hamburger, I shouldn't say something that will make her depressed. Yeah, that's it. Just for today, we should forget about everything else.

"Asia."

"Ah, Yes."

"Let's go have some fun."

"Huh?"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

We went to the nearby game center that one of my clients asked me to take her out to.

"Um...What do I do now?" We were playing one of those racing games. Or rather, I was teaching Asia how to play.

"Just keep your foot on the accelerator...Alright, change gear and push down on the accelerator here!"

"O-Ok!" She did as I told her too and she went right past the other cars and came in first place.

[WIN!] The screen shows her victory. Oh, looks like she set a new high score.

"Hm? Asia, where are you going?" She started walking off in the direction of the crane game and started staring intently at one of the stuffed toys inside.

...If I remember correctly, that's a doll of "Rache-kun", a mouse-like mascot that's pretty popular right now.

"Asia, do you want that?"

"Ummm...no...it's..."

Asia's face turned red, and she admitted it shyly.

"Got it. I'll get it for you!"

"Eh? Bu, but...!"

"It's okay. I will get it."

I put the coin in immediately and started controlling the crane. Yuzu and Karin used to get me to play these to win a toy they wanted ages ago, so I'm pretty good at crane games. On the first try, I dropped it near the slot. I got it on the second try.

I took the doll out and gave it to Asia.

"Here you go, Asia."

Asia became so happy that she held the doll against her chest.

"Thank you very much, Ichigo-san. I will take care of this doll."

"Hey, hey. If a doll like that makes you happy, then I'll get you more dolls next time."

That's what I said to her. But she shook her head.

"No. This Rache-kun that you gave me represents the wonderful day I met you. Since today is the only day I met you, I will take good care of this doll."

She actually said something embarrassing like that... But it actually suits her saying that. Oh well!

"Okay! It's still early, so let's play a bit longer!"

"Yes!"

I took her hand and we went deeper into the game center.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ah, we played a lot today."

"Oh yes...I'm a bit tired..."

We were back in the park after playing for the whole day. The sun was already beginning to set. Strange, I never thought that the date planning I did for that false date with Amano Yuuma to avoid arousing her suspicions would be useful again. I flinched when the cut on my back started aching again. Dammit, I thought it would have healed by now.

"Ouch!"

"Ichigo-san, is that wound from yesterday?"

Asia's face turned gloomy. Damn, just when she was having so much fun, she had to remember something painful.

"Can you lift up your shirt?"

"Um...sure, I guess."

I lifted my shirt up and exposed the cut on my back, though the cut was now a thin line across my back. Asia placed her palm over the cut, and a green light came out of her hand. This is...the same power she used on that boy from the park.

"How is it?"

I moved my arms around. No pain at all.

"Uoh, there's no pain at all. That's amazing, Asia. Is that a Sacred Gear?"

"Yes, it is."

So it is, after all.

"Well, actually I also have a Sacred Gear." It's probably not a good idea to tell her I have a Longinus.

"Ichigo-san, you also have a Sacred Gear? I didn't realize it at all."

"Well, compared to mine, Asia, your power is amazing. This can heal humans, animals, and also Devils like me, right?"

She made a confused expression, then a sad face. Soon after, there was a drop of tear from her eyes. Then, more tears started flowing out from her eyes. She then got down and started crying. I didn't know what to do, so I took her to a spot where we could sit. We sat on the bench on the roadside. Then, she told me a story about the girl who was called the "Holy Maiden".

In a certain region in Europe, there was a girl who was discarded by her parents. She was raised in a church nearby by a nun along with other orphans. The girl who was a strong follower of the Church received a special power at the age of 8. She healed a wounded puppy, and a person from the Catholic Church witnessed it by chance. From there on, her life changed. The girl was taken to the main Catholic Church and she was symbolized by many as a "Holy Maiden" because of her healing power. She used her power to heal many believers. They were told it was a power of divine protection. Rumors brought rumors and she was respected as a "Holy Maiden" even without her approval. She had no dissatisfaction's for how she was treated. People from the Church were kind and she didn't hate healing people. She instead was happy that her power was of use. The girl was thankful to God who had given her that power.

But she was a bit lonely. She didn't have any friends she could talk to. Everyone treated her nicely and was nice to her. But there were no one willing to become her friend. She understood why. She knew that they were looking at her as something irregular. They didn't look at her as a human but as a creature that could heal humans.

But one day, it changed. By coincidence, there was a Devil nearby, and she healed it. She thought that even if it was a Devil, she had to heal it if it was injured. It was her kindness that made her take such an action. But that changed her life forever. One of the people from the Church saw that incident and notified others of the Church. The higher ups of the Church were shocked about it.

"A power that can heal Devils!?"

"Something absurd like that cannot happen!"

"The power of healing is only to heal the followers of God!"

Yes, there were several people who had the power to heal. But the power to heal the Devil was out of the question. The people of the Church thought it was common sense that the power to heal doesn't work on Fallen Angels and Devils. Apparently, a similar incident had happened in the past. The power to heal Fallen Angels and Devils that were not protected by God. But that was feared as the power of a "witch". So the people saw her as a heretic.

"Damn witch that heals Devils!"

The girl who was respected as a Holy Maiden was now feared as a witch. So the Catholic Church kicked her out. The group that picked her up was a group of "Exiled Exorcists". In other words, she had to get divine protection from the Fallen Angels. But the girl never forgot to pray to God. She also never forgot to thank God. But the girl was still cast away. God didn't save her. What shocked her the most was that there was not even a single person that was willing to defend her. There was no one who cared about her.

"It's because I didn't pray enough... See? It's because I'm clumsy. I'm so stupid that I can't even eat a burger by myself."

Asia wiped her tears while laughing.

...I didn't know what to say to her. She was shunned and abandoned for saving the life of another? For some stupid reason like that, she was left with no place to go but to the Fallen Angels? I could barely suppress my anger at that.

"This is also a trial that God gave me. Since I'm a clumsy nun, God gave me this trial so I have to endure it."

She was laughing as if she was talking to herself. Asia, you don't have to say anymore...

"I'm sure I will make lots of friends one day. I have a dream. I want to go buy flowers with a friend...and also go buy books and...talk..."

She stopped talking and tears started flowing down her face. I can't look at her anymore, or I'll definitely lose my temper.

...What the hell is this!? A sweet girl like this was left to the wolves because she did the right thing!? What kind of God lets such a thing happen under his nose!? Someone like that...doesn't deserve to be called a God!

I grabbed her hand and looked straight at her eyes, which were still wet from crying.

"Asia, I'll be your friend. No, we're already friends."

Asia gave me a look of slight confusion.

"It doesn't matter that I'm a Devil. I won't take your life nor will I ask for anything in return! So just give me a call whenever you feel like it! I'll give you my number!"

I reached into my pocket to pull out my cellphone.

"...Why..."

"There's no reason! We played, we laughed, we talked together for the whole day, didn't we!? Then we are friends! It doesn't matter if it's a human or a Devil or about God! We are friends!"

"...Is that a pact with a Devil...?"

"It's not! We're real friends! No strings attached! We will put other things aside! We will talk when we want to, and we will play when we want to! And I will also go shopping with you! We will go shopping as much as you want! That's fine, isn't it!?"

I know that I suck at conversation. I've been told time and time again that I lack tact.. But Asia put her hand on her mouth and started to cry. Though, this time, her tears didn't seem sad.

"...Ichigo-san. I have no common sense."

"We could learn by going around the city! If you look at different things, you would learn eventually!"

"...I can't speak Japanese and I don't know Japanese culture..."

"I'll teach you! No matter how long it takes, by the time I'm done, you'll be a natural!"

"...I don't even know what to talk about..."

I grasped Asia's hand tightly.

"You talked to me normally for a whole day. That's a start. We'll just keep going from there."

"…You will be my friend…?"

"Yeah. I'll be in your care from now on, Asia." I'll definitely protect this girl. She didn't the life that she had. From now on, I'll definitely…!

"That's impossible. A human and Devil can never be friends." A familiar voice interjected and rejected all my thoughts.

"I was wondering when you would show up, Amano Yuuma or whatever your real name is."

She smirked at me.

"So you're still alive? And you even became a Devil? Ah, this is really the worst."

I smirked back.

"I notice your hand still looks pretty stiff. What's wrong, haven't recovered from that little cut yet?" Her smirk vanished and was replaced by a snarl.

"That reminds me, I need to pay you back for that wound. Ready to die, brat?" She summoned a spear of light into her hand.

"…Raynare-sama…"

Asia timidly called her by an unfamiliar name. Raynare…so that's her real name.

"And? What's a Fallen Angel do out here? I honestly doubt you came just to see me."

"I came for the girl. She's my personal belonging, so can I have her back? Asia, running away is useless."

As I thought, Asia ran away from the Church.

"No, I don't want to... I don't want to go back to that church. I don't want to go back to the people who kill other people...Also, you people did things to me..."

Asia replies back with disgust. What happened? What happened inside that church?

"Please don't say that Asia. Your Sacred Gear is essential for our plan. So please come back with me? I also took the time to look for you. Don't make trouble for me."

Raynare approached us. Asia hid behind me. Her body was shaking with fear. I took a step ahead to cover her.

"Beat it, Fallen Angel. Or I'll have to use force. Asia obviously doesn't want to go back."

"What's between us doesn't have anything to do with you. If you don't go back to your master's place quickly, you will die, you know?"

She pointed her spear at me. Oh boy, looks like I'll have to fight.

"Boosted Gear! Blade of Bonds!"

The red gauntlet formed around my left hand and the white bone substance covered my body. Raynare looked shocked and even a bit afraid of my Sacred Gear.

"Boosted Gear!? The legendary forbidden weapon that can kill Gods!? With a kid like this!?"

"Let's go, Ddraige!"

**[Boost!]**

My power doubled and I rushed at her with Bringer Light. Because of her fear of Boosted Gear, she couldn't react fast enough, and I sliced off one of her wings. A stream of blood poured out of the wound.

"Kyaaa..! You damn brat!" She thrust the spear at me, but I smashed it with my sword and cut her across her chest.

"What's wrong? You're pretty weak, aren't you? If you don't pull yourself together…" I increased the reiatsu pouring out from my body, and her knees buckled under the pressure. I held my sword in front of me.

"...You're gonna die, you know?" I took a step forward. She flinched and started to back away from me.

**[Boost!] **I felt my power double again. I prepared to finish her off.

…Then, I felt several presences popping up everywhere around the park. It wasn't just one or two. There were several dozens of them. And all of them had one thing in common: they were all human. And there was one familiar presence among them approaching quickly.

"Yahoo! We meet again, Devil-kun! Let's continue our fight from where we left off!" It's that crazy priest, Freed! I was quickly surrounded by dozens of humans in black cloaks, and all of them had a sword of light and a gun. Uh-oh, this is bad.

"…Ha..Ha ha ha ha! This is perfect, even if it's you, you can't possibly survive against this many exorcists at once!" Raynare seemed to get over her fear of me and started laughing. She is half right though. I can't fight off this many of them without getting injured. Oh, this is gonna suck…

"Asia, if you don't want that devil over there to die, come with me. Your Sacred Gear is essential for our plan. Your Sacred Gear, 'Twilight Healing' is special. If you don't come with me, I will kill that Devil."

Raynare cruelly ordered Asia. I'm a hostage!? Like hell!

I swung my sword in a wide arc in front of me.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A wave of black and red shot out and sliced through the exorcists in front of me. Ugh, even though they're enemies, I still don't feel good about killing humans. As soon as I finished that line of thought, more exorcists appeared to replace the ones I killed.

"Shit! How many of you guys are there!?" I cursed out loud.

"You see? That Devil may be strong, but we have an absolute advantage in numbers. No matter how long or hard he struggles, he'll die if you don't do as I say!"

"Shut up! This is nothing!"

"Yes, I understand."

Asia..! Don't listen to that bitch!

"Asia!"

"Ichigo-san, thank you for today. It was really fun. And…thank you for being friends with someone like me." She walked towards Raynare and healed her wing.

"Good girl, Asia. That's it. Now, problem solved. With today's ritual, you will be freed from your suffering." She made a psychotic and lecherous smile. This damn bitch…!

Asia turned to me once more and smiled.

"…Goodbye."

Raynare covered Asia with her wings.

"Low-class Devil, you were spared because of this girl. After the ritual, you will no longer be a threat to me, even with that Boosted Gear. If you try to bother me again, I'll kill you. Farewell, Ichigo-kun."

She sneered at me and flew away with Asia.

But, the exorcists surrounding me made no move to leave. Instead, they started to close in.

"…You guys…" I spoke in a low voice. I'm at my limit, I won't hold back anymore.

"…Are in my way!" I swung my sword in a perfect circle around me and unleashed a giant wave of black and red that sliced through most of them. The rest that weren't hit quickly retreated, including Freed. The only things left in the park were me, the corpses of the exorcists I killed and the Rache-kun that Asia left behind.

…I'm so weak. I couldn't even protect a single girl. I'm so useless. I…I…!

"UOOOOOHHHH!" I screamed in anger at the evening sky.

* * *

Life 2: "I make and lose a friend." End

* * *

And with that, the third chapter is over. Next, we'll be wrapping up with the Raynare arc and proceed to the Raiser arc. Also, would you guys prefer for me to post the short stories as part of the main chapters, or as separate chapters?

Well, I'll be writing the next chapter of my other story next. I think I've neglected it long enough.

Lastly, I have two new story ideas and I plan on publishing both eventually. Which would you like me to publish first?

1. It's a pure DxD fic. A 35-year-old Hyoudou Issei is forced into another one of Azazel's experiments and he is sent time to just after his victory against Riser, with no clear way of getting back to his time. The plot will closely follow canon, but the older Issei will be guiding the gang and training his younger self. And sometimes troll them with snippets of his time. This older Issei is really strong, like Top 10 level, but he's not gonna fight all of his younger self's fights for him.

2. It's a Potter/DxD crossover, which will probably be quite short. It's a wrong BWL fic where Harry runs away at the age of 8 and is found and blood-adopted by Sirzechs Lucifer and Grayfia Lucifuge, taking the name Hadrian Lucifuge, head of the Lucifuge Clan. 6 years later, during the Triwizard tournament, Dumbledore, worried that Voldemort may try something, tries to get help from his old friend, Sirzechs Lucifer, who is busy with his duties as Maou and sends Hadrian instead. This is a godlike Harry fic, since the difference in power between the DxD universe and the HP universe is just that huge.

I'll put up a poll, so please vote.

Well, that's all. I'll see you guys next chapter.


	4. Life 3: Black and White Remix

Ok, the 10th chapter of Infinite Dragon Emperor has been posted, so I can finally start working on this.

Last chapter, some of you sent in negative reviews, mostly complaining about Ichigo's supposed weakness. For the battle against Freed, I mean, come on, have you ever seen Ichigo fight in such a small space before? As far as I know, all of Ichigo's battles have been fought in large places with plenty of room to move around. It's only because he was temporarily hampered by the dust that Freed managed to land a hit on him. If the battle had been fought in a more open space, Ichigo would have ripped Freed apart, which unfortunately he still won't do in this chapter, mostly because I still need him alive for the Excalibur Arc.

For the battle against Raynare, if you can call it that, he didn't win, but he didn't lose either. If those hadn't gotten in his way at the last minute, Raynare would already be dead.

For those who complained about Ichigo's thoughts on his own weakness, you've seen how self-deprecating Ichigo can be in canon, this is just another one of those moments. Thankfully, I'm not planning another seen scene like that, he will be kicking ass left and right from here on out.

Has anyone read the latest Bleach chapters? Ichigo is proven to be part-Quincy, as I had suspected for a while now. I'm guessing Masaki was Juha Bach's daughter. By the way, I'm sticking with the name 'Balthasar', just because it sounds better. Ichigo's Quincy powers will be touched and expanded on eventually, but for now, he'll just be sticking to his other powers and only use Blut Vene and Blut Arterie, which appear to be instinctive for him.

Alright then, let's move on to the story.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

*SLAP*

The sound of a slap resounded in the club room.

Buchou had slapped me on the cheek.

She had a serious expression.

"How many times do I have to repeat myself? No is no. I can't allow you to save that nun."

I visited the school after I couldn't save Asia. I then reported the story to Buchou. Even after I reported what happened, I proposed to go to that church. I probably could have rescued Asia on my own, but I'm now officially affiliated with the Devils. I can't act rashly as I did in the past.

Obviously, to save Asia. Normally, I would have charged headfirst into the church to save Asia on my own, but doing so may start a war between the three factions. I'm fine with fighting in wars, I've already fought and won two major wars, but I'd rather not have a war started because of my actions. Which is why I wanted to find a way to save Asia without doing so.

But Buchou on the other hand said that she wouldn't get involved in this matter. I couldn't agree with her decision, so I urged her to revert it even though I knew it was rude. That's why she slapped me.

"Then I will go by myself. I'm worried about the ritual thing. The Fallen Angels are doing something from behind the scenes. There's no guarantee about Asia's safety."

"Are you really that stupid? You might die, you know? And this time, you won't be able to come back to life."

Buchou tried to talk calmly, but she was talking to me as if she was warning me.

"Your actions will affect not only me but also the other members as well as my brother, the Maou! You are a Devil of the Gremory Clan! You need to be aware of that!"

"Then let me leave this group. I'll go there as an individual." If I'm not affiliated with any group, the Devils can claim to have nothing to do with my actions, so war can be averted. Probably.

"I can't do that! Why don't you understand?"

"I became friends with Asia Argento. Asia is my important friend. I won't abandon my friend!"

"...That's a wonderful thing. I think it's amazing if you can say that. But that is different than what we are talking about now. The relationship between a Devil and a Fallen Angel is not as simple as you think. The two sides have been glaring at each other for hundreds and thousands of years. If you show them a single gap of weakness, they will come and kill us. They are our enemy."

"Wasn't destroying the enemy the Gremory's way of doing things?"

"..."

We glared at each other. I didn't back off. I looked straight at her.

"That girl was originally from God's side. She is a person that we cannot ever coexist with. Even if she went with the Fallen Angels, she is still the enemy of us Devils."

"Asia isn't our enemy!"

I denied it strongly.

"But she has nothing to do with us. Ichigo, you have to forget about her."

Even if she said it like that I couldn't forget about her!

Then Akeno-san came and whispered into Buchou's ear.

What is it? Did something happen?

Akeno-san also had a serious expression. But it looked like it was not because of our conversation. Buchou, who was listening to Akeno-san, made a serious face.

Just as I thought, something had definitely happened.

Buchou looked at me, and then looked at the remaining members.

"I've got an urgent thing to do now. Akeno and I will go out for a bit."

No!

"Buchou! I haven't finished talking...!"

Buchou put her index finger on my lips.

"Ichigo, There are some things I need to tell you. Do you remember what I told you about the Pawn's 'Promotion'?"

"Hm? A Pawn can promote to any other piece other than the King while in enemy territory or when the King gives permission."

"That's right. The second thing is about the Sacred Gear."

She started to stroke my cheek, where she had slapped me.

"A Sacred Gear's power works on the user's desire. It also determines the power as well. For a Longinus Gear like your Boosted Gear, this is doubly true. Even if you are a Devil, your will to desire hasn't been lost."

Desire, a Sacred Gear's power is decided by that…

"And remember Ichigo, even a Pawn can take down a King."

After saying that, she teleported to some place from the magic circle along with Akeno-san. The only ones left were me, Yuuto, and Koneko.

'Promotion' in the enemy's territory, desire that powers a Sacred Gear and Akeno-san whispering something to her. I started to connect the dots. Most likely, it was confirmed that Raynare was a rogue, and so Buchou decided to allow me to go.

…Thanks, Buchou. I won't let you down.

I turned and walked towards the door. Yuuto called out to me.

"Ichigo, are you going?"

"Yeah, I have to go because Asia is my friend. I am the one who has to save her."

"…You might die. Even if you're strong, light is still a Devil's weakness. With that many exorcists and a Fallen Angel, there's a chance you might die."

"Even so, I'm going. I'll definitely save Asia."

"…In that case, I'm going too."

"Yuuto?"

"I don't know much about Asia-san, but you are my friend. Even though Buchou said that, there's a part of me that respects your decision. Also, I personally don't like Fallen Angels and Priests. I detest them."

Sounds like something happened to him in the past, but now's not the time to pry.

"Buchou said that she acknowledges that you'll go a long way. Of course it also means that I should support you as well. Buchou may have some kind of plan. If not, she would have stopped you by locking you up somewhere."

"…I'm going as well." Koneko said as she approached us.

"Koneko?"

"…I feel uneasy if it's only the two of you going."

"You two… Thanks. Then, let's go. We're going to save Asia."

Like that, the three of us headed for the Church, moving as fast as we could.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

Night had already fallen by the time we got to the Church, and judging by the reiatsu, Raynare is definitely inside.

The three of us hid in the woods and examined the church closely. There's at least a hundred reiatsu signatures coming from inside, probably more priests. Well, that sucks. More hindrances.

"Let's take a look at the layout."

Yuuto pulled out a large sheet of paper. Blueprints for the Church.

"Studying the enemy's base is basic battle strategy."

I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. Now that I think about it, I've never actually done any real planning before charging into enemy territory, first with Soul Society, then Hueco Mundo. Yuuto didn't seem to notice as he pointed to the main building.

"There are two suspicious places: the sanctuary and the dormitory."

"It's the sanctuary. I know people like that Fallen Angel. Cocky, show-offs. They'll want to execute whatever master plan they have in large spaces, so the sanctuary is the most likely place."

Yuuto nodded.

"I agree. Not just that, but because the sanctuary is also a place of God. By conducting dark rituals that God forbids there, they can satisfy themselves by insulting the God that had rejected them." Spitting in the face of God, huh? Yeah, that sounds like something that Fallen Angel would do. But, the God of the Bible is also at fault. He cast away his own followers and even abandoned someone as kind as Asia. That's something I definitely can't forgive.

"The sanctuary is just beyond the gate. We can go straight in. The real problem is finding the stairs to the basement and taking care of any obstructions they may have placed to delay us."

"Leave those to me. Concentrate on finding the stairs." Yuuto and Koneko nodded.

We ran straight through the gate and towards the sanctuary. By now, Raynare has probably noticed our presence.

We opened the door to the sanctuary and stepped in. At first glance, it looked like any other sanctuary. But the statue of Jesus Christ crucified on the cross had its head blown off. That's eerie, I have to admit.

*Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

The sound of clapping echoed in the sanctuary.

From behind one of the pillars, a white-haired priest stepped out. Freed.

"Well well, this is a problem! I never met a Devil twice before! See, because I'm super strong, I cut Devils into pieces when I first meet them! Once I see them, I cut them up on the spot! I then kiss the corpse and say goodbye! That's how I used to live! But since you guys ruined my style, I'm so lost! That's no good! It's not good to interfere with my lifestyle! That's why! You guys piss me off! I hope you guys will die! Actually die! You shitty Devilsssssssss!"

Oh, sounds like he's pissed. He took out the gun and light sword from before.

"You guys came to rescue Asia-tan, right? Hahaha! Devil-samas are big hearted for coming to rescue a bitch like that who would even heal Devils! Well, just being entranced by a Devil is reason enough for that Sister to die!"

Damn, this guy's annoying as hell.

"Where's Asia!?"

"Well, the stairs are under the altar. They lead to the place where the ritual is being conducted."

…That was easy. Guess that means we just have to finish him off.

"Boosted Gear! Blade of Bonds!" Synchronized with my yell, the red gauntlet and the white armor appeared. Yuuto unsheathed his sword and Koneko…

"…Get smashed." She picked one of the benches that was several times her size and threw it at Freed.

"Whoo! Oh yeah!" Freed twirled and slashed the bench in half with his sword.

"There."

*WHOOSH*

Yuuto moved in a burst of speed and clashed swords with Freed. The two swords continuously clashed as both Yuuto and Freed tried to find an opening.

"Hmmm! Hmmm! Such a bother! Why are you guys so noisy? I'm sorry for talking in a death language! Forgive me after you die!"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Freed shot at Yuuto with his gun, but Yuuto sidestepped each light bullet. They stopped and glared at each other.

"Impressive. You are strong."

"Ahahahaha! You too! A Knight, huh!? Not even a single blind spot! Now this is great! Yes, yes. This is it. I haven't had a battle like this lately! I was about to cry because of it! Hmmm! Hmmm! I'm going to kill you!"

"Then I will fight seriously for a bit then."

Oh? Is he going to use Sword Birth?

"Eat this." Yuuto said in a low-pitched voice. I've never heard that tone from him before.

An inky black fog or something gushed from the sword and coated in in black. It's not the 'Dark Matter' that he used against me, but a different sword.

The moment it touched the light sword, the black substance engulfed the light sword.

"Wha, what the hell is this!?"

Freed seemed confused.

"This is 'Holy-Eraser', a darkness sword that engulfs light."

"You are also a Sacred Gear possessor!?"

Now, while he's distracted.

**[Boost!] **My power doubled.

"I just said you're annoying!" Freed shot light bullets at me. Yuuto, realizing what I was going to do, had moved out of the way.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A wave of black and red shot out of my sword and destroyed the bullets upon contact and continued on its path towards Freed, who jumped out of the way.

"Promotion, Bishop!" Time to use the new Hado I learned.

"Promotion!? You're a Pawn!?"

"Hado no.31 Shakkaho!" A huge ball of fire, twice the size of the one I shot during training, shot out from my hand at high speed. So this is the power of the Bishop. Freed tried to block it with what remained of his light sword. The fireball exploded on impact and a cloud of smoke engulfed him. This time, I didn't wait for it to clear.

"Promotion, Rook!" A surge of power coursed through my body. I charged into the smoke and sensing his reiatsu, I punched in front of me and hit something solid. Then I swung my sword.

"Getsuga Tensho!" Another wave shot from my sword and struck something that ket out a yell of pain. It also cleared the smoke, allowing me to see him. And damn, he looked like crap. His clothes and skin were heavily burned, his bloody left arm holding the broken gun hung limply at his side, his burnt right arm held the broken fragments of what used to be his sword. His cheekbone appeared to have caved in where I had evidently punched him and there was a deep gash running from his left shoulder to his right hip. I was surprised, shocked actually, not by the extent of his injuries, but by the fact that he was still alive. He's surprisingly durable.

"…Heh…Heh heh…Don't fuck with me…DON'T FUCK WITH ME! THERE'S NO WAY I'LL GET KILLED BY A BUNCH OF SHITTY DEVILS!"

He pulled out a second sheath from his pocket and extended the light sword. Yuuto, Koneko and I moved to surround him. Freed looked around at us and smirked.

"Wow, wow. Is this what you call a crisis? Well for me, getting killed by a Devil is a no-no, so I feel like retreating. It's a shame that I can't exorcise you guys, but I also don't want to die!"

The priest took out something round and smashed it on to the floor. Instantly, our eyes were blinded with a shining light. Shit! A flash bomb!? When my eyesight returned, I looked around us with my eyes half opened, but the Priest was gone. Then the Priest's voice came from somewhere.

"Hey. The grunt Devil over there...I think your name was Ichigo-kun? To tell you the truth, I have fallen in love with you. So I will definitely kill you. Definitely, okay? I won't forgive a shitty Devil who nearly killed me, okay? Then, bye-bye."

I felt his reiatsu leaving the Church and fleeing towards the woods. Come to think of it, I feel Buchou's and Akeno-san's reiatsu in another part of the woods too. Along with the reiatsu signatures of 3 Fallen Angels, but none were Raynare's. Hers was coming from below us.

The three of us nodded to each other and ran down the stairs behind the altar.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"At the end of this passage…This scent belongs to that person…" Koneko said as she pointed to the end of the passage. Asia is at the end of this path, long with Raynare and a hundred priests. Worse, her reiatsu was slowly getting weaker. We have to hurry!

At the end of the passage, we found a giant door.

"There's a huge number of priests inside. Are you two ready?"

Koneko and I nodded. Yuuto and I were about to push open the door when it opened by itself with a loud creaking noise, revealing the large ritual chamber inside.

"Welcome, Devils." Raynare greeted us mockingly from the elevated platform at the other end of the chambers. The place was full of priests in the same black cloaks as the ones from the park. My attention was drawn to the cross on the elevated platform behind Raynare. Or rather, the person crucified on the cross.

"Asia!"

Asia heard me and looked up.

"…Ichigo-san?"

"Yeah, it's me! We're here to save you."

A tear rolled from her eye down her cheek.

"What a touching reunion! But's it too late, the ritual is complete."

Asia's body started to glow.

"...Aaaaaah, nooooooo!"

Asia screamed in pain.

"Asia!"

I rushed towards the platform, but the priests immediately blocked my path.

"I won't let you interfere!"

"I will destroy you, Devil!"

"I don't have time for you! Get out of my way!"

They swung their light swords at me, but…

"…Blut Vene!" I activated the reishi system throughout my body and my defences were drastically bolstered. The light swords bounced harmlessly off me. Before they could get over their shock, I returned the favour.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A wave shot out from my sword and cut down the priests in front of me.

*CRACK* The familiar sound of bones breaking came from behind me. Koneko had punched a priest into a group behind him, knocking all of them over.

"…Please don't touch me."

Yuuto readied his 'Holy Eraser'.

"Looks like I will have to go all out from the beginning. I hate Priests. If there are this many, then I won't hesitate to devour all of your light swords."

Yuuto's eyes grew sharper and his tone became emotionless, other than the obvious distaste. His killing intent grew stronger.

That's when I noticed that Asia's screams had stopped. I looked up and saw that Asia had gone limp and a bright light came out of her body, which Raynare grabbed.

"This is it! This is the power that I craved for for a long time! Sacred Gear! With this, I will be loved!"

With an ecstatic expression, she embraced the light and it expanded and blinded everyone in the room. When it died down, Raynare's entire body was glowing green and her reiatsu had increased. Not by a particularly significant level, but still enough to be noticeable.

Fufufu. Ahahahahaha! I finally have it! The supreme power! With this...! With this, I can become a supreme Fallen Angel! With this, I can take revenge on all those who looked down on me!"

Raynare started laughing maniacally. I didn't pay her any mind and jumped up to Asia. The priests tried to stop me, but I was already airborne using Bringer Light, and Yuuto and Koneko had already knocked them away.

Asia, who was chained to the cross, was lifeless. No, she's still breathing. I smashed the chains and caught her.

"...Ichigo-san...?"

"Yeah, I'm here to take you back."

"...Yes..." She replied lifelessly. Dammit, at this rate...!

"It's futile. Those who have their Sacred Gears extracted from their bodies will die. That girl won't last much longer. Probably no more than five minutes." Raynare smirked.

"...Then, I'll be taking that Sacred Gear back."

"There's no way I'll give it back. I even deceived the higher ups just to get my hands on this. There's no way I can go back empty-handed. I'll kill all of you to erase any evidence."

"...I wasn't asking." I activated 'Blut Arterie' and punched her in the face with as much force as I could. She was sent flying and smashed through the ceiling back into the sanctuary.

"...Yuuto, Koneko, can I leave these guys to you?"

"Go ahead. The servants of Rias Gremory won't die so easily."

"...Please hurry."

"...Thanks."

I used Bringer Light and shot up through the hole in the ceiling, Asia in my arms.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

Asia's face was quickly draining of its color. I laid her down on one of the benches.

"Just wait a bit longer. You'll be fine. You'll be free soon."

She smiled and grasped my hand with what remained of her strength.

"...I was happy...that I had a friend...even if it was only for a short while..."

She smiled, despite the pain that she was going through.

"...If I were born again...would you be my friend once more...?"

I could tell, being a Shinigami makes me sensitive to a living person's impending death. Asia didn't have any time left, she would die any moment now.

"...Yeah, I would definitely be your friend again. We would play together, sing together, and laugh together. We would also go to the same school together." I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. Even though I wanted them to stop, they just kept coming.

"...Even now...you would cry...for someone like me..." She patted my cheek and then, her hand dropped.

"...Thank you..." She spoke her last words and her eyes closed forever. She died smiling.

...Why? Why did someone as kind as her have to go through such a horrible life? Why didn't anyone stand by her side? Why did God abandon such a kind person?

...I wonder...Is this how Aizen felt when he looked upon the state of the world? Did he feel a need to rebel against the Soul King and take the throne himself because of things like this?

...To be honest, I don't care. Right now, I just want to kill her. The bitch who dared to end the life of someone like Asia.

"...You damn brat...How dare you touch me with your filthy hands!?" Raynare rose from the floor and screamed at me. Then, I did something that shocked her.

I dismissed Blade of Bonds and Boosted Gear.

From inside me, I felt Zangetsu and Ddraige's surprise.

"_Ichigo...?"_

**[Partner...?]**

"_...I'm not going to let this one die so easily."_

In that instant, Zangetsu, my lifelong partner understood.

"_...I see. Then, you will use his power?"_

"_...Yeah, call him for me, will you?"_

Zangetsu's presence dimished, and_ his_ presence rose.

"_**Yo, King! It's been a while! What did you call me for?"**_

**[I see. So that's what you're going to do?]**

Ddraige seemed to realize my intention.

"_**King...?"**_

"Lend me your power. I'm going to carve fear and despair into that bitch's soul."

It seemed that even _he_ became solemn at my words.

"_**...You're sure about this?"**_

"_Never been surer of anything else. Just once, I'll give in to my instincts."_

"_**...Alright. Look at her, King. This is the woman who dared to kill one of your friends. Hate her, despise her, wish her dead. Reach into that anger deep inside and pull it to the surface!"**_

I raised my left hand to my face and pulled it down. My mask immediately formed over my face, and my vision was tinged red. A power unlike any other I've ever received from _him_ rose within me.

"...Wha-What is that mask!? Just what the hell are you!?" Raynare screamed in terror.

"**...Your executioner."**

I used Sonido to get behind her and kicked her. Weird, I've never been able to use Hollow techniques consciously before.

"_**That's because you've always unconsciously rejecting them. Now that you've completely accepted them, you'll be able to use any Hollow technique, except Resurrecci**__**ó**__**n."**_

I see. Then, let's test that out, shall we?

"Ha ha ha, it's no use, brat! As long I have this Sacred Gear, I can heal any injury you inflict on me!" She placed her hand on her wounds and a green light glowed in her hand. Her wounds slowly closed. I felt a deep, primal rage rising in me.

"**That belongs to Asia! Scum like you isn't worthy of using it!"**

I leapt at her and activated Blut Arterie. Then, I knocked her into the wall and continuously pummeled her, rage fuelling each punch. Each time I punched her, I felt her bones break under the force. When I was done, I pulled her out of the wall, threw her to the ground and smashed the bones in her wings with my hands. She screeched in pain until her voice died completely. I picked her up and flung her into the air. I raised an open palm at her and charged a red and black beam.

"**CERO!"** A giant beam shot out from my hands and struck her, mangling her body and smashing through the wall and into the woods.

I feel a lot better now. But...Asia is dead. My mask dissipated and fatigue coursed through my body.

"_**Time's up. Looks like using my full power puts a bigger strain on you than before. Of course, if you practise, the time limit can be extended."**_

I started to fall, but someone caught me from behind.

"Yo."

"Yuuto, done already?"

"Yeah. Where's the Fallen Angel?"

"Dead or dying. Somewhere outside."

"Alright. Koneko-chan."

Koneko nodded and went outside.

"How did you survive against that many priests?"

"Buchou came and saved us."

"Buchou did?"

"That's right. I used a magic circle to transport here after finishing up with my errand. I was nervous because it was my first time transporting to a Church.

Buchou sighed. I see. Well, if it was Buchou, no priests would stand a chance, I guess.

"So ,you won?"

"In a manner of speaking, I guess. I defeated her, but I couldn't save Asia…"

"Yes, about that…" But she trailed off as Koneko walked back into the Church, dragging something black behind her.

"Buchou, I've brought it." Then, I realized that something was Raynare's broken body.

"My my, looks like you did quite a number on her." She looked at me with an amused expression.

"I was pissed at her." I shrugged.

"Well then, Akeno, wake her up."

"Yes, Buchou."

Akeno-san raised her hand. A ball of water appeared above Raynare and was unceremoniously dropped on her.

*SPLASH*

"Cough! Cough!"

Raynare coughed after getting drenched by water. The Fallen Angel woke up and opened her eyes. Buchou looked down at her.

"How are you doing, Fallen Angel, Raynare?"

"... You are the daughter of the Gremory Household...?" Wow, to think she still has the ability to speak after the damage I did to her body…Fallen Angels really are incredible. Or rather, supernatural beings are really incredible.

"That's right, my name is Rias Gremory. I'm the next heir of the Gremory Household. It will only be for a short while, but pleased to make your acquaintance."

Buchou greeted her with a smile, but Raynare glared at her. Then she sneered.

"...You think you've got me, but too bad. This plan was kept secret from the higher-ups, but there are other Fallen Angels with me. If I get in danger, they will..."

"They won't come to help." Buchou interrupted.

"I've already eliminated those three. The ones called Kalawarner, Donnaseek and Mittelt."

"That's a lie!" Raynare immediately tried to deny Buchou. In response, Buchou took three black feathers, each with a distinct trace of reiatsu left on them, out of her pocket. They each have the same reiatsu as the three Fallen Angels I felt Buchou and Akeno-san fighting in the woods.

"These are the feathers of those three. You can tell them apart since you are the same kind as them, right?"

Raynare lost hope after she saw the feathers.

"I knew there was a group of Fallen Angels plotting something in this town after you went out of your way to attack Ichigo who lived in the next town. But I ignored you because I thought it was something your higher-ups were involved in. Even I'm not foolish enough to take on the entire Grigori. Then I heard that the Fallen Angels were moving around secretively so Akeno and I went to talk to them. When I met them in person, they blurted that they were acting on their own. By helping you, they said, they would get promoted to a higher status. Low-lifes who move around secretively usually brag about their plot."

Buchou smirked. Raynare gritted her teeth in frustration and despair.

"They looked down on us because it was just two girls who approached them. So I asked them as a parting gift. Fufufu, they talked without realizing who the ones about to die were. Such foolish Fallen Angels. Well, since they were willing to help in your pathetic plot, they themselves were low beings."

"Getting hit by a single shot won't even leave a trace. The princess of the Duke who has the power of "destruction". Buchou is a powerful Devil who is called a genius among the group of young Devils."

Yuuto commented and bragged about our mistress.

"One of her nicknames is "Crimson-Haired Ruin Princess", you know? That's whom you were up against."

…Scary. Remind me not to piss her off.

"Well then, shall we finish this up?"

Buchou's eyes became sharp and looked ruthless. Buchou stepped towards Raynare. She shrank back in fear.

"I will have you die here, Fallen Angel-san."

It was a cold tone filled with killing intent.

"Of course, I will retrieve that Sacred Gear back as well."

"You can't be serious!? This healing power is for Azazel-sama and Shemhaza-sama..."

"To live your life for love is beautiful. But you are too tainted with dirt. You have no

elegance. And I don't allow that."

Buchou aimed her hand towards Raynare. Looks like she will kill her in one blow.

"Yo!" Someone appeared behind the door. It's the damn priest, Freed, still looking worse for the wear.

"Didn't you run off with your tail between your legs?" I casually commented.

"Well, it looked like I was something interesting, so I came back to take a look. And lo and behold, my superior is in trouble! What should I do now?"

"Save me! If you save me, I will give you a reward or something!" Raynare shouted to him.

"Hmmm. Hmmm. I received a beautiful order from an Angel. Huh? So I can have sex with you? To me, having sex with an Angel is like the best honor. It would improve my social status."

"Ku...Don't fool around and save me!"

The Fallen Angel's face darkened with anger. She's panicking. She probably thought that a mere human wouldn't betray her or something like that.

"Ararararara, you know that I'm actually serious...I mean, something minor like that should be alright. Isn't it, Angel-sama? So it's a no? Is that so? Then I will take my leave now. No matter how you look at it, I'm at a disadvantage, so I will just take off."

Freed said it in a funny tone while curling his body.

"You are a Priest, aren't you!? You are supposed to save me! I'm an all mighty Fallen Angel! I..."

"I don't need a superior who loses to scum, Devils. You are pretty, but you lack plans and you are hard headed. The only thing you are useful for is masturbation. So just die away already. Well, a Fallen Angel who is abandoned by the God won't go to either Heaven or Hell but goes back to nothing. Maybe the experience of turning into nothing will be helpful? Oh, that's impossible, because there will be nothing left. It's impossible, hahaha. So namusan. Wait, that's Buddhism. Oh yeah, I'm a former Christian! I'm such a naughty boy! Hahahaha!"

After saying it he moved his sight elsewhere, as if he had lost interest in Raynare. With that, Raynare despaired. Freed smiled manically at me.

"Ichigo-kun, you have such interesting powers. I'm looking forward to killing you! You're at the top of the list of Devils I want to kill! The next time we meet, let's have a romantic fight to the death, okay? Bye bye!" He ran off…again.

"Now, the Fallen Angel Raynare, who was abandoned by her own servant. Pathetic."

Buchou didn't have the slightest hint of sympathy in her tone. Raynare started to shiver. Well, it's not like she doesn't deserve this, after what she did.

"Ichigo-kun! Please save me!" Her tone reverted back to the one she used when she 'confessed' to me.

"This Devil is trying to kill me! I love you! I love you so much! That's why, let's defeat this Devil together!"

I felt my anger spike at her words. How dare she act so innocent after what she did to Asia!? But I crushed down my rage. It wouldn't do to lose control of my Hollow powers, especially when Buchou and the others are here.

"…Farewell, Fallen Angel Raynare. Buchou, the sight of her is sickening. Could you please…?"

Hearing that, Raynare froze. Buchou stepped forward with a black ball of magic in her hand.

"…Don't try flirt with my cute servant. Disappear."

She launched the ball of magic.

*BANG*

The ball of magic did not leave any trace of Raynare behind, only black feathers dislodged from her wings from the force of the blast.

Then, a green light floated down. It's Asia's Twilight Healing, released from Raynare's body. Buchou caught it in her hands.

"Now, let's give this back to Asia Argento-san."

"But, Asia is already gone…" That's right, I can't sense any more life in her body. At the very least, I should wait for her soul to materialize and perform Konso on her. She has a substantial amount of reiryoku, so she'll probably do well in Shino Academy.

Buchou smiled.

"Ichigo, do you know what this is?" She took out a crimson chess piece from her pocket.

"That's…a Bishop Evil Piece? Buchou, do you mean…?"

"The bishop's role is to support the other members of the group. This girl's healing power could be useful as a Bishop. It never happened before, but I will reincarnate this girl as a Devil."

A crimson flow of magic power surrounded Buchou's body.

"I order, in my name Rias Gremory. You, Asia Argento. I resurrect you back to this earth as my servant, reborn as a Devil. You, my "Bishop", with a new life, be delighted!"

The Bishop piece entered Asia's body at the same time as Twilight Healing. Buchou stopped her flow of magic and sighed. Then, Asia opened her eyes and sat up.

"…Huh?" Asia murmured as she looked around with bleary eyes. Buchou smiled.

"I resurrected her because I wanted her power that can even heal a Devil. Fufufu, Ichigo, from now on, you'll protect her. Since you will be her senior Devil."

Then, Asia spotted me.

"…Ichigo-san?"

I hugged Asia tightly.

"Let's go home."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next day, when I got to the club room, Buchou was the only one who had arrived. School had not yet started, but I came because Buchou said last night that we would have an important meeting this morning.

"Morning, Buchou."

"Yes, good morning. How are your wounds?"

"I didn't sustain any serious wounds, and Asia already healed the minor ones."

"I see. Her ability to heal a Devil is incredible."

Buchou sipped her tea. I slumped into the seat opposite her.

"Well then, there's something about the Evil Pieces that I forgot to mention. The value system."

"Value system?"

"Yes. Each piece has a specific value, much like how in real chess, Queens have a value of 9 Pawns, Rooks have a value of 5 and Knight and Bishop both have a value of 3. The Evil Pieces also have the same values. But, there are also Mutation Pieces. Mutation pieces have values much higher than their normal counterparts. Half of the Pawn Pieces I used to resurrect you were Mutation Pieces. I also used a Mutation Piece to reincarnate my other Bishop. That speaks volumes of your potential."

"I see…" Most of the value is probably being used up on my ability to use Mugetsu, though Boosted Gear is an equally broken power.

"Ichigo, you have the potential to become the strongest Pawn, no, even the strongest Devil, so become stronger and aim for that goal."

"The strongest Devil…" I've never had any real desire for social status, but that does have a nice ring to it.

Then, Buchou suddenly touched her lips to my forehead. I felt blood rush up to my cheeks.

"That was a good luck charm, so continue to become stronger, okay?"

Still flustered by that kiss, I could only nod my head.

"I probably should stop here for now, adoring you. The new girl will get jealous of me."

Jealous? What is she talking about?

"Ichigo-san...?"

A voice came from behind me. I knew this voice. When I turned around, it was the blonde girl, Asia, who was trying to smile.

"A...Asia?"

Oh shit, is she mad at me?

"It has to be... Rias-buchou is very beautiful, so even Ichigo-san will also... No, no! I can't think like that! Oh God. Please forgive my sinful heart."

Asia made a prayer but she then screams "ouch".

"I have a headache."

"Of course. If a Devil praises God, of course you will receive damage."

Buchou said that normally.

"That's right... I turned into a Devil. I can't face God anymore."

Asia seemed a bit downcast at that revelation.

"Do you regret it?"

Buchou asked Asia. Asia shook her head.

"No, thank you very much. I'm happy as long as I am with Ichigo-san, so I'm fine even if I'm a now a Devil."

Asia flashed a brilliant smile at me. I scratched my cheek in slight embarrassment. Then, I noticed that Asia was wearing the Kuou Academy uniform.

"Asia, that uniform…"

"Ah, yes. D-Does it suit me?"

I nodded my head.

"You look good in it."

"I made Asia attend our school. Since she is about the same age as you, she's also in 2nd year. It's her first day here, so make sure to look after her."

"I'll be in your care, Ichigo-san."

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it."

Then, the doors opened, and Yuuto, Koneko and Akeno-san stepped in.

"Good morning, Buchou, Ichigo, Asia-san."

"...Good morning, Buchou, Ichigo-senpai, Asia-senpai."

"How are you all doing, Buchou, Ichigo-kun, Asia-san?"

The three of them greeted us. Buchou stood up.

"Since everyone is here, shall we start the party?"

Buchou snapped her finger after saying that. Then, there appeared a big cake on the table. Is this magic as well?

"It might be good sometimes to gather in the morning to do these kind of things, right? Since we got new members, I made some cake, so let's eat everyone."

Buchou said it shyly. Then the door opened again.

"Wow, you guys really know how to live large."

"Urahara-san! Yoruichi-san!"

My two mentors stepped inside.

"Hello. May I ask who you two are?" Akeno-san politely asked them.

"Oh, these are Urahara Kisuke and Shihouin Yoruichi. My mentors."

"Oh, this is an honor! To meet the mentors of someone as strong as Ichigo-kun."

"Ha ha, I'm just a humble shopkeeper. No need to be so formal with me."

"…By the way, how did you two get past the security?" Both of them were dressed in their usual outfits. There's no way the security guard would have let them in.

"…Heh." Yoruichi-san smirked. Then, I got a bad feeling.

"…You two. Don't tell me you used the Kikanshinki…?"

"Well then, Kurosaki-san, be sure to stop by the store tonight! I'll be teaching you Bakudo and Yoruichi wants to get started on your Shunko training! Bye!" They ran out of the room. Don't just change people's memories for your own convenience! You'll screw up their heads!

* * *

(General POV)

(Hueco Mundo)

In the ruins of Las Noches, the former fortress of the rebel Captain, Aizen Sousuke, and his arrancar army, an army of Gillians and Adjuchas had gathered. While this may not usually be a cause for concern, they were lined up as though part of a military. At the front of the army, twenty humanoid hollows were lined up, each possessing a vast amount of reiryoku. The very force of their presence was strong enough to keep the huge numbers of Gillians and Adjuchas in check. If not, they would have started eating each other in a bid to evolve.

Within what used to be the throne room, thirteen humanoid figures with mask fragments and a Zanpakuto at their side sat around a round table, sipping tea the colour of blood.

One lost his patience and slammed his cup onto the table.

"My lord! Surely we have waited long enough! Let us invade Soul Society and destroy those cursed Shinigami!"

"Now now, have patience. We do not want to repeat the same mistakes of Aizen Sousuke and Balthasar. They had powers that could rival even mine, but both still fell to Gotei 13. We must not alert them to our presence, or they will be able to prepare countermeasures."

"Even though you say that, the defeat of Aizen Sousuke and Balthasar was mostly thanks to the presence of Kurosaki Ichigo. If he were dealt with, would that not provide us with the perfect opportunity to invade?"

"On the contrary, if something were to happen to Kurosaki Ichigo, Gotei 13 would most certainly bolster their defences in response. No, Kurosaki Ichigo must not be touched, not until our invasion begins. Not only that, Kurosaki Isshin would surely seek revenge for the death of his son. Do not forget, it was he who dealt me this wound that incapacitated me for 4 decades."

"…But was this really wise? To stop observation of the Shinigamis after the failed Quincy invasion?"

"It's fine. Gotei 13 is still busy licking their wounds after the devastation caused by said failed invasion. They will not have time to do anything to increase their combat prowess. No, the only true threat to us would be those not officially affiliated with Soul Society. Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Isshin, Ishida Uryu, Ishida Ryuken, Orihime Inoue, Yasutora Sado, Urahara Kisuke, Shihouin Yoruichi, Tsukabishi Tessai, Aikawa Love, Sarugaki Hiyori, Yadomaru Lisa, Kuno Mashiro, Ushoda Hachigen. These 14 must be dealt with before our victory can be ascertained. But we can leave that for another time. For now, let us simply enjoy our tea."

* * *

And this chapter is done. Sorry it took so long, I was sidetracked by Pokemon Black 2, God of War 3 and Fate/Extra. The chapter's a bit short, and the ending was a bit rushed and awkward because I'll be leaving for a holiday in Australia on Saturday, and I wanted to at least post this chapter before leaving. I probably won't have any access to internet while on holiday, so don't expect an update until next month.

The Raiser Arc is next, and new enemies have appeared. They will be the main antagonists of the original arc I have planned for after the Kuou Treaty is signed and before Ichigo's trip to the underworld.

I'll be writing the first chapter of my Harry Potter and High School DxD crossover next, so look forward to that next month.

Also, if you didn't read the author's note at the end of the latest chapter of my other story, I have an idea for another DxD crossover. This time, it's with Percy Jackson and the Olympians. When Percy was 2, his mother was killed by monsters, but he was saved and raised by either Serafell Leviathan, who was in New York for an audience with the Olympians, or by Ophis, who just likes to wander around. He will be the wielder of the low-tier Longinus, Absolute Demise, and more badass than he was in the books. And the final twist? He won't be Greek, he'll be Roman, just because I like the Romans better. Leave your thoughts on who should save and raise Percy in your reviews.

Well, that's all for now. Please read and review.


	5. Life 4: Clear the rain

Oh, you guys will not believe this. My computer crapped out on me while I was typing this, so I lost a good deal of the chapter. I'm typing the rest of the chapter on my laptop, hopefully my computer hasn't completely died on me.

Last chapter, a reviewer pointed out that I forgot to put the spoiler tag before I talked about the latest Bleach chapters. Sorry about that, it won't happen again. Unfortunately, I'm not too sure how to do that without Fanfiction screwing up the format, so if a reviewer could tell me, that would be very helpful.

All right then, on with the story.

* * *

_I will definitely protect you. I'll make sure that you'll never have to shed another tear over this again._

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Not enough power! Try again!" Yoruichi shouted after another one of my failed attempts at using Shunko.

"Gh…Dammit!" It's been a month since our scuffle with Raynare and the start of my Shunko training. I tried to concentrate and release a controlled amount of Reiryoku from my body. I was in soul form, as trying to use Shunko in my physical body will probably only tear it apart. It was getting more difficult, as I've already tried doing this at least 50 times. Fatigue was seeping into my muscles and my concentration was slipping. Admittedly, I was doing a lot better than when I had first started out. Back then, I released too much reiryoku and destroyed my surroundings, in addition to several bones. Now, I could at least somewhat control the reiryoku flowing from my body, but it always turned out to be too little or too much. Today's a Saturday, so I've been doing this from dawn till now. I'll be returning to Karakura soon to visit my family and friends, so I'll probably have to stop after this attempt. Come on, just a bit more…

*BWOOSH*

Black flames erupted from my body. While Yoruichi's Shunko had taken the form of lightning and Soifon's the form of wind, mine had taken the form of black flames.

"You're almost there! You just need to release a bit more power and it'll be good enough."

"…Dammit, I'm at my limit!" The flames dispersed and I collapsed.

"That's enough for today. You should take a dip in the hot springs. You'll be returning to Karakura later, right?"

"Yeah, you guys aren't coming?" She turned to leave.

"Nah, Kisuke says he's on the verge of a breakthrough with a new Gigai and doesn't want to leave till he's done." Then, she left in a burst of speed, leaving me alone.

"You look like you're working hard." I turned my head towards the source of the voice.

"Buchou! What are you doing here?"

"I came to see how your training was coming along. Would you mind going back into your body? It's a bit disturbing to see your lifeless body."

"Oh right, sorry." I limped over to my body and entered it. My fatigue seemed to double as I did so.

"Damn, my physical body really isn't as good as my soul form."

"Well, she'll be here soon, so she'll fix you up."

"She…?"

"Ichigo-san, Buchou-san! Sorry for being late! Hauu~!" Asia climbed down the ladder into the training grounds, but fell when she was a meter off the ground.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ichigo-san, here's your green tea." She handed me a flask.

"Thanks. But, Asia, why are you here?" Her cheeks turned red.

"I heard that Ichigo-san was doing intensive training, so I wanted to be of some help. Right now, I can only prepare green tea and heal your wounds." She placed her hands over my cuts. A green light flashed from her hands and my wounds closed.

"Thanks for the help."

She smiled in response and I took another sip of the green tea. Then, I noticed that Buchou was distracted while drinking her tea.

"Something wrong, Buchou?"

She snapped out of her daze and coughed.

"No, it's nothing. But it's good timing. I decided to do it today, so let's head to Ichigo's apartment now before visiting his family."

My apartment? Why? What's going on at my apartment?

"It's about time that the luggage arrives."

I only realized what she meant ten minutes later.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"…What the hell is this?"

In front of my apartment door, there is a huge box. There isn't anything written on it, not even the sender's name.

"Ichigo, carry these in."

"Um...What's in the box?"

"It's Asia's belongings."

"Asia's!?"

"Yes, from now on, Asia will be living with you."

I was so shocked that my mind froze for a while.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

By the time my brain finally rebooted, I was already on the train to Karakura with Buchou and Asia. Apparently, my body moved on its own and carried the box in.

I immediately started to protest.

"Wait wait wait. Why is Asia living with me!?"

"Well, Asia needs a place to stay, now that she's joined us."

"That, I can understand! But why me!?"

"Um...Ichigo-san... Do you not want me around...?" Asia asked me with teary eyes. Oh shit...

"I-It's not that...But, it's considered improper for two teenagers of opposite genders to live together without adult supervision..." I tried to stop her from crying.

"It's fine. I trust you to be able to control yourself." Buchou said with her hands on her hips.

"But...!" She stared hard at me. I know that look. She's not gonna budge on this.

"Haaaa... Fine." Sighing, I could only agree.

"Good. Now that that's settled, Asia, we'll be meeting Ichigo's family and friends, so be on your best behavior."

"Yes, Buchou."

Oh shit, now that she mentioned it...I don't want to imagine my old man's response to Asia moving in with me...

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Masaki~! Are you watching!? We've been gifted with a fourth daughter~!"

"...Someone kill me already." I placed my face in my palms sighed. He reacted exactly as I predicted.

We reached Karakura after an hour, and everyone was already waiting for us, since I already told them over the phone that I was coming back, and that Buchou and our new member, Asia, was with me.

"Asia-chan~! You can stay as long as you like. Papa will allow it!"

"Thank you very much, Ichigo-san's Otou-sama."

"A-Asia, please don't feed his ego anymore..." I implored her.

"Well, that aside, while Asia-san will be staying here when she's in Karakura, where will she stay over there?" Ishida asked me.

"A-Ah, Buchou arranged for her to stay in my apartment..."

"...It appears that you'll be having a harder time from now on."

"Don't remind me..."

That was when I heard Buchou sigh. I turned and caught sight of the melancholic expression on her face.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

It's been a few days since Asia moved in with me. Thankfully, no one made a fuss of it. Well, except Keigo, who went on about the unfairness of life, but those complaints were quickly silenced after I clotheslined him.

"The weather today is nice, isn't it, Ichigo-san? We are playing softball for physical education today. I'm excited, since it's my first time!"

Asia and I were walking to school. As one, the eyes of the students around turned to stare intensely at us.

"W-Why are Kurosaki-kun and Asia-san walking together...?"

"N-No way, are those two...dating!?"

"First with Rias-sama, then with Akeno-sama and Koneko-chan, now with Asia-san. To be friendly with so many bishoujos...is this the privilege of a prince!?"

Oh yeah, after I transferred here, most of the students started calling me 'prince' for reasons beyond me. I can understand Yuuto, since his looks are above average, what girls would call a bishounen, but why me? From what most of the students back in Karakura said, I look like a delinquent, so why am I being called a 'prince' too?

...Well, whatever, it doesn't really matter to me.

"By the way Asia, are you having any problems at school? Is anyone bullying you?" I try to keep an eye on her as much as possible, but she might be being bullied while I wasn't around. If she is…I'll introduce the bullies to my sword, consequences be damned.

"Everyone is very kind to me. They are teaching me many things so I can get used to Japan faster. I also made a lot of friends."

I smiled a bit at her.

"I see. That's good."

*THUD* *THUD* *THUD*

Hm? I heard the sound of several heavy objects dropping to the ground. When I looked up, I saw that a lot of the girls had fallen to the ground, blood pouring from their noses.

"S-So handsome…My heart can't take it~"

I heard one of the girls moan. What on earth are you all doing?

"Um…Asia-chan, Kurosaki-kun…" Oh, looks like a group of girls recovered. Their noses are still dripping a bit of blood though.

"If it's okay with you, w-would you come with us to go shopping after school?" The leader asked with a steadily reddening face.

"Sorry, but Asia and I have club activities after school, and we'll be staying pretty late today." It wasn't a complete lie. I'll be helping Asia pass out her share of leaflets and that will probably take a while.

"I see…That's too bad…" Their heads dropped as one. Then, one of them shot back up.

"By the way, Asia-chan, Kurosaki-kun, I heard that you two walk to school together every morning. Why is that?"

I noticed that all the girls around us had stopped in their tracks and turned to stare at us with intense eyes.

"Ah, I'm being taken care of by Ichigo-san at his apartment." Asia replied without hesitation. Uh-oh.

All the girls froze in place…and then they started crowding Asia.

"I-Is that really true!?"

"Yes. Ichigo-san was very kind to let me stay in his home because I lost mine."

"W-What's Kurosaki-kun like at home?"

"Very much like he is at school. Oh, but he cooks our meals because I'm not very good at cooking yet."

"Then, do you wake him up every morning!?"

"No, he's the one who wakes me up, right after he makes breakfast."

"KYAAAA!" All the girls squealed as one.

This…seems like a good time to run. I pushed past the crowd, grabbed Asia's hand and ran like hell towards the classroom, ignoring the girls' pleas for me to wait for them. Doubtless, everything Asia said will be known by the entire school by lunch break. The high school girl gossip network…It truly is terrifying!

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

That night, I moved around town with Bringer Light, carrying Asia on my back. I landed right outside a house and Asia place a leaflet in the mailbox. Then, I started moving again.

"I-Ichigo-san, are you sure you don't have to rest?" With all the wind blowing past my ear, I barely made out Asia's concerned voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine, since you're light. Rather than me, are you okay moving at this speed?"

"Yes, if it's with Ichigo-san, I always feel safe."

"Is that so? In that case, hold on tight. We'll be going even faster!"

"Yes!" She wrapped her arms around my neck and tightened her hold. I sent more reiryoku to my feet and sped off.

On the way, we passed the gate leading to the local shrine. I stopped right in front of it.

"Take a look, Asia. This is a shrine. Devils like us cannot enter places like this."

"Yes. Devils aren't allowed to go to places where spirits gather and the local god lives, right? It's hard for me to understand Japanese gods because I'm a Christian..."

Buchou mentioned that Asia would have trouble understanding Japanese culture since she was raised believing there was only one God. I wasn't exactly an expert on Japanese mythology, but I knew enough to teach her.

"Oh, look there. It's closed now, but that shop sells the best ramen in town. Let's come eat here sometime." I wasn't really that fond of ramen, but it was also Ginjo's favorite food, which is why I often eat it. My own way of honoring his memory, I guess.

"Yes, ramen is delicious, so I love it!"

As we continued running, Asia asked me something.

"Ichigo-san, have you ever watched the film 'Roman Holiday'?"

"Hm? It's a pretty old film, right? Sorry, but I've never seen it."

"Is that so…?" She sounded a bit downcast at that.

"Is there something about that film?"

"…It's my inspiration. It was a bit like this…Though they used a bike. But, even so…Fufufufu."

Hm? She sounds a bit happier. Well, whatever. If she's happy, it's fine.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"We're back!"

Asia and I finished handing out the leaflets and returned to the club room.

"Ara ara, good work. I'll make some green tea for you two."

The one who greeted us was our vice-president and the 'Queen' of Buchou's peerage, Akeno-san.

"Yo, how was the late night date?"

Yuuto, the 'Knight', waved at me while grinning.

"It wasn't a date, dumbass."

"…You shouldn't have an illicit rendezvous at night."

Our 'Rook', Koneko, made a harsh comment.

"L-like I said, it wasn't a date…Whatever."

I turned to Buchou who was seated at the sofa sipping a cup of tea.

"Buchou, we've returned." I greeted her, but Buchou just sat there in a daze, staring off into space.

"Buchou, we've returned!" I tried again, this time raising my voice. Buchou started and came back to reality.

"I-I'm sorry. I was distracted for a second. Good work, both of you."

Lately, Buchou has been distracted a lot. When she's ordering us, she does it with her usual elegance, but after that, her mind wanders off. She sighs a lot these days too. Maybe the stress of being a High-Class Devil is getting to her.

When she confirmed that everyone was present, she clapped her hands and announced, "Now then, let's have Asia make her debut as a Devil."

Buchou drew a magic circle on the back of Asia's hand with her fingers, just like she did with me.

But now, I'm bit more worried about Asia, and what kind of person would summon her.

I honestly hope she doesn't meet the male versions of my clients…

"_Kurosaki-kun, will you wash my back~?"_

"_Kurosaki-kun, give me an oil massage~."_

"_Kurosaki-kun, take me now!"_

…Alright, to hell with this.

"Buchou, I feel uneasy about Asia going alone. I would like to go with her."

Buchou seemed to understand my worries.

"Ichigo, we, the Devils of the Gremory Clan don't take those kinds of requests. There are some humans who would make such requests, so there are also Devils who take care of those requests. Even Devils have areas they specialize in."

"Even so, I still feel uneasy."

Buchou sighed.

"Alright, but only for a little while. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I just want to make sure that she knows how to deny requests like that."

Buchou nodded her head.

"Well then, Asia, if you get a request, bring Ichigo along as well."

"Yes, Buchou."

Then, the magic circle on the floor started glowing. Akeno-san started reading the Devil's letters that appeared in the centre.

"Ara ara, we have a client and his request is quite simple. Asia-chan should be able to handle this job."

Buchou smiled.

"Good timing, let's let Asia handle this."

Buchou nodded to us.

"Let's go, Asia."

"Yes, Ichigo-san!"

We stepped into the middle of the magic circle and transported to our client's location.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

We returned to our apartment after finishing the job and reporting to Buchou. It's already close to midnight.

"Well then, I'll be taking a shower first, Ichigo-san."

Asia entered the bathroom after saying that. I slumped onto my bed, thinking about Buchou's problems. I haven't really known for that long, but I can say that she's already become an important person to me, just like the rest of the club members, which is why I'm worried about her odd behavior.

While I was pondering this, a flash of light emerged from the floor of my room. A familiar magic circle appeared. Is one of the club members coming over? Then, a figure emerged from the magic circle.

"Buchou…?"

The one who appeared in my room was Buchou. She had a slightly desperate look on her face. She walked towards me.

"Make love to me."

…Huh? I …don't think I heard that right. My confusion must have shown on my face, because Buchou followed up with another mind-blowing statement.

"Ichigo, I want you to take my virginity. Right now."

"…What?"

"Hurry and take off your uniform. I'll also get ready for it." Buchou hassled me and then started taking off her uniform. She dropped her shirt, leaving her upper body fully exposed, save her breasts.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing!?"

"I've thought for a long time, but this seems to be the only way out."

Way out of what!? What kind of problem would require her to do THIS to resolve it!?

"If there is evidence, they won't be able to complain. The only one who is close to me who is able to do it is you. Yuuto won't do, he's a pure Knight. He would surely decline."

"And what makes you think I wouldn't?!"

"…Please?" She looked at me with those accursed teary puppy dog eyes.

"…Gh! E-Even if you give me that look, this is a serious matter. This is one thing I won't budge on!"

She pouted and looked like she was going to complain, but at that moment, the floor of my room flashed again.

Buchou sighed.

"Looks like I was too late."

The Gremory magic circle appeared and the person who appeared was…someone I don't know. A silver-haired maid stepped out from the magic circle, emitting an gigantic presence, at the level of...no, beyond an ordinary captain's. She narrowed her eyes at Buchou.

"Are you trying to break the agreement by doing something like this?"

The maid admonished Buchou. Buchou's mood changed.

"If I don't do things like this, Otou-sama and Onii-sama won't listen to me."

"Both Sirzechs-sama and the master will be sad if they found out that you tried to give your purity away, even if it's to the son of Kurosaki Isshin and the Sekiryuutei."

She turned to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo-sama. I am a servant of the Gremory Clan. My name is Grayfia. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She bowed to me.

I returned the gesture.

"You know my old man?"

She grimaced, as though recalling something unpleasant.

"Yes, during the civil war, I was in the Old Maou Faction. Your father allied himself with the New Maou Faction and we fought once. I underestimated him because of his carefree attitude and nearly died because of it."

Buchou seemed shocked when she heard that. Me, not so much. Instead, I nodded my head.

"Yeah, even if he acts like a goofball most of the time, Goat Face is strong. If he and I were to fight, I'd lose in an instant."

Grayfia-san smiled slightly when she heard my nickname for dad. Then, I thought of something.

"Wait, how is a former member of the Old Maou Faction now a servant of the Gremory Clan?"

Grayfia-san blushed slightly. Buchou giggled.

"She fell in love with my brother. She defected to the New Maou Faction at the end of the war and married my brother, and also became his 'Queen'. Their love story is quite famous throughout the Underworld."

Grayfia-san blushed harder and even I chuckled. There was still one thing…

"Why is the wife of a Maou working as a servant?"

"Oh, that's just her interest. She prefers taking of chores."

Grayfia-san cleared her throat.

"Ojou-sama, it's time to leave."

"Very well, let's go back to my room. I'll listen to whatever to you have to say there. Akeno can also come, right?"

"The 'Lightning Priestess'? I don't mind. It's a must for a High-Class Devil to have their 'Queen' at their side at all times."

"Okay. Ichigo."

"Hm?"

She turned around and...kissed me on the cheek!? I felt my face heat up.

"Please forgive me for today with this kiss. I've caused you a lot of trouble. I'll see you in the clubroom tomorrow."

She left through the magic circle with Grayfia-san, leaving me alone in my room.

"Ichigo-san, I've finished using the shower!"

Asia stepped out of the bathroom right after that.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Buchou's problems? Most likely, it has something to do with the Gremory Clan."

Yuuto told me as we, along with Asia, walked through the hallway out of the classroom. I asked him if he knew what was going on with Buchou, but he didn't know the reason either. I didn't tell him about last night, there's no way I could!

"Akeno-san would know, right?"

Yuuto nodded.

"Akeno-san is Buchou's most trusted servant, so obviously she would know."

The moment we walked near the old school building, I felt a familiar presence.

"Hmm? Why is Grayfia-san here?"

"Oh? You know Grayfia-sama?"

Oh crap, I slipped up!

"Y-Yeah, I met her and Sirzechs-sama when I became a Devil, since they're acquaintances of my dad."

"Ah, the one who fought alongside the New Maou Faction during the civil war? It is strange though, for Grayfia-sama to come here..."

We walked up to the door and I pushed it open. Inside were Grayfia-san, who looked as stoic as ever, Buchou, who had a grim look on her face, Akeno-san, who, despite smiling like always, was uncharacteristically serious about something, and Koneko, who sat alone in a corner, as though she didn't want to be involved in whatever was going on. The room was dead quiet. Yuuto whispered, "This is bad", behind me. Asia, who had a worried expression on her face, gripped my shirt tightly. I patted her once on the head and walked inside. Buchou spoke after Yuuto closed the door behind us.

"Looks like everyone is here. Before we start club activities, I have something to announce."

"Ojou-sama, would you like me to explain the situation?"

Buchou rejected her offer with a wave of her hand and sighed.

"The truth is..."

But, at that moment, the magic circle on the floor started to glow. Someone else is coming? But, everyone from the Gremory side is here... Sirzechs-san...? Probably not. I can't imagine that a Maou has the privilege of coming to the Human World whenever he pleases. And the symbol on the floor is changing to a different pattern.

"...Phenex."

Yuuto muttered. Phenex? If I'm not mistaken, that's the name of one of the 72 Pillars of the Underworld. The magic circle let out a strong light and someone emerged from it.

*SPARK*

Flames started to appear from the magic circle. Nowhere near as hot as the old man's Ryujin Jakka, but still hotter than any ordinary flame. They started to spread and I stepped in front of Asia to shield her from them. I waved my arm to disperse the flames. A man's silhouette appeared within the flames and when he swung his arm, the flames vanished.

"Fuu...It's been a while since I came to the Human World."

The man who appeared was wearing a dark red suit, but it wasn't worn properly, so he looked more like a delinquent. He was handsome, but gave the impression of a bad boy, the opposite of Yuuto. Just looking at him caused some displeasure in me, though I'm not sure why. He looked around the room and smirked when he saw Buchou.

"My lovely Rias, I'm here to retrieve you."

...My lovely Rias...? That sounded so corny that I felt like barfing. Buchou looked like she swallowed a lemon and was releasing strong hostility at him. He either didn't notice or didn't care, and approached her.

"Well then, let's go take a look at the ceremony hall. The date of the ceremony is already decided, so we should go check it out before then."

He grabbed Buchou's arm. This guy...!

"Let go of me, Raiser."

She spoke in a deadly tone and shook his hand off. That guy, Raiser, just kept smirking, not seeming to care that Buchou had shaken his hand off.

"Oi, you're being quite rude to our King, you know?" I said. He turned to look at me with displeased, condescending eyes, like I was a bug.

"Ahh? Who are you?"

He said in a rude tone, completely different from the sultry tone he used with Buchou.

"'Pawn', Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Kurosaki...? Ah, the son of the hero, Kurosaki Isshin, and the Sekiryuutei? Rias, looks like you gained a rather interesting servant. Shall I test him out!?"

A spike of reiatsu told me he was about to attack and I tensed my muscles. He shot a ball of flames at me. I activated Blut Vene, raised my hand and crushed it in my palm. He looked a bit shocked at that.

"Oh? Not bad, you dispersed my flames barehanded." There was a hint of grudging respect in his voice.

"No, those flames were quite impressive. They actually managed to burn me a bit." I opened my palm and showed the small burn on it. Some of the flames actually managed to burn through my Blut Vene...And he wasn't being completely serious in that attack. I might have to fight all out against this one...

"Well then, it's my turn." I gathered reiatsu in my fist and launched a Bala at him. But, he made no move to avoid it. He's planning to take it head on!? My Bala punched through his stomach, leaving a hole there. But...no blood came out of the wound. This time, I really was shocked that he was just standing there like nothing happened.

"Hm...Not a bad attack, to be able to wound a High-Class Devil such as myself. And like me, you weren't using much power either. As expected of the son of Kurosaki Isshin. But...it's useless against a Phenex like me."

As he said that, flames coated the wound and when they dispersed a second later, the wound was gone. Not even a scar was left. High speed regeneration!? No, it's something else, even Ulquiorra couldn't regenerate organs.

"Nice trick. Anyway, who are you?" I played off my shock and asked him. He looked surprised at my question.

"...Ara? Rias, you didn't mention me to your servants?"

"I didn't tell them because there was no need to."

"Hahaha...As harsh as always."

"Kurosaki Ichigo-sama. This is Raiser Phenex-sama, a Pure Blood High-Class Devil and the third son of the Phenex Clan." Phenex...Phoenix? The immortal fire bird? I guess that would explain his abilities. Is he Buchou's friend? She certainly didn't treat him as one...

"And he is the husband of the heir of the Gremory Clan."

The heir? That would be...Buchou?

"He is Rias-sama's fiancé."

"...Say what?"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"The tea made by Rias's 'Queen' is superb."

"Thank you very much." Though she said that, there wasn't a trace of sincerity in it at all. Buchou sat on the sofa, and Raiser sat next to her, with his arm around her shoulder. Buchou shook him off every time, but he kept touching her all over. We, the Low-Class Devils, could not sit with them and had to watch from afar.

"That's enough!" Buchou finally lost her temper and got up from the sofa.

"Raiser, I've told you before! I will not marry you!"

"Yeah, I heard that before. But Rias, that won't do, you know? I think your clan is in a rush to evade the crisis."

"That's none of your concern! If I'm the next heir for the Gremory Clan, then I will choose who will become my husband! Also it was a promise that I will be free until I graduate from university!"

"That's right. You will be free. You can go to university and you can do whatever you like with your servants. But your Otou-sama and Sirzechs-sama are worried. They are afraid that your clan will become extinct. We lost a great number of Pure Blood devils in the last war. Even if the war has finished, our rivalry with the fallen-angels and God isn't finished yet. It's not rare for a Pure Blood devil to get killed, which leads to the household becoming extinct because of the worthless battle against them. So for Pure Blood devils that are also High Class devils getting together would be the best solution to fix this situation. A Pure-Blood High-Class devil. Even you know that these children will be important from now on, right?"

Raiser had taken a serious tone, contrary to his arrogant tone from before. Even Buchou couldn't say anything in the face of his logic.

"The newly produced devils. The ones like your servants, the reincarnated devils, are expanding in terms of strength but that would make us, the Pure Blood devils, lose place. There are old nobles who get close to the powerful reincarnated devils. But that's alright. The newly produced devils are important for the future as well. But we can't allow the pure-blood devils to go extinct right? We were chosen in order to prevent the Pure Bloods from going extinct. I have my older brothers in my clan, so my clan is safe. However, there would only be you, Rias, who can inherit the Gremory clan. If you don't take a husband, the Gremory clan will go extinct with your generation. Are you trying to crush the clan that has been in history since ancient times? Because of the past war, there is not even half the number of devils who are referred as "72 pillars". This marriage has the future of the devils on the line."

"I will not allow my clan to go extinct. I will take a husband."

Raiser had a big smile after hearing Buchou.

"Ahh, that's it Rias! Then, let's..."

"But I won't marry you, Raiser. I will only marry the one I'll want to be with. Even the devils who obey the old rules have the right to choose."

Buchou rejected him. Raiser's expression darkened after hearing that.

"...You know Rias. I'm also a devil who holds the name of Phenex behind me. I can't let that name get scratched. I didn't even want to come to a small old building like this in the human world. Actually I don't like the human world. The fire and wind in this world is filthy. For a devil like me who symbolizes fire and wind, I can't stand it!"

Raiser burst into flames that started to ignite parts of the room.

"I'll drag you back to the Underworld, even if that means I have to incinerate all of your servants."

His murderous intent spiked and I felt Asia tremble behind me. On the other hand, the rest of us went into a battle stance.

...While this guy's flames aren't that strong, they were still hot enough to burn through my Blut Vene. Worse, that wasn't his full power. Not to mention that absurd regeneration-like ability of his. If we fought, could we really win?

Before we could do anything else, Grayfia-san interfered.

"Ojou-sama, Raiser-sama, please clam down. If you two insist on fighting, then I won't stay quiet."

Buchou and Raiser froze after hearing that. Raiser dispelled the flames around his body.

"...To be told that by the 'Ultimate Queen', even I would get scared. I really don't want to have to fight the members of Sirzechs-sama's peerage, which is said to be made up of monsters."

So Sirzechs-san really is as powerful as he seems? Well, his and Grayfia-san have above Captain-class reiatsu, so I guess 'monster' isn't a bad description.

"Everyone, including the master, Sirzechs-sama and the people from the house of Phenex knew it would become like this. To tell you the truth, this was to be the last discussion meeting. Everyone knew that it wouldn't be solved, so we decided on a last resort."

"Last resort? What do you mean Grayfia?"

"Ojou-sama, if you wish to push your opinion forward, then how about you decide it by having a Rating Game with Raiser-sama?

"...!?"

Buchou was stunned into silence after hearing that.

Rating Game. The battle system that the Devils came up with to see whose peerage is stronger. Both sides comprise of a King, a Queen, two Rooks, two Bishops, two Knights and eight Pawns, very much like chess. Like chess, if the King is taken down, the match is over. Buchou has never participated in a Rating Game before because she's not yet of age, so why was this suddenly decided?

"As Ojou-sama knows, official Rating Games can only be played by mature Devils. However, if it's an unofficial match, even underage Devils can participate. Though, in this case..."

"It's to settle the clan issues, huh?"

Buchou sighed.

"In other words Otou-sama and the others chose to make us do the game as a last resort when I was to decline, right? ...What nerve they have for trying to control my life...!"

Buchou was enraged and a red aura burst forth from her body.

"Then Ojou-sama, you are saying you decline the Rating Game?"

"No. This is a good chance. Alright then. Let's decide this by the game, Raiser."

Raiser smirked after Buchou challenged him.

"Hoo, you're accepting it? I don't mind. But I'm already a mature Devil and I have already participated in the official game. Right now, I have won most of the games. Even so, do you still want to play, Rias?"

Raiser replied with a challenging tone. Buchou made a smirk.

"I will. I will make you disappear, Raiser!"

"Fine. If you win, do whatever you like. But if I win, you will marry me immediately."

They glared at each other with fierce eyes.

"Understood. I, Grayfia, confirm both sides opinion. I will be in charge of the game between the two sides. Is that okay?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Buchou and Raiser both agreed.

"Very well. I will inform the two households then."

Grayfia-san bowed her head. Raiser looked at us and smirked.

"Rias, are these all of your servants?"

"What of it?"

"This match will be a joke. Only the 'Lightning Priestess' and Kurosaki Ichigo are on par with my servants. Even if Kurosaki Ichigo exceeds even me in terms of power, my regeneration is absolute. It's impossible for you to win."

Raiser snapped his fingers. The Phenex Clan symbol appeared on the floor and from it, a group of people appeared.

"These are my cute servants."

One, two, three...fifteen people were gathered around Raiser. In other words...

"A completed peerage?"

Raiser nodded at my question.

"That's right, I've already gathered all of my pieces. Rias, your peerage only consists of 6 people, including yourself, and out of them, only half can fight on par with my peerage. Do you honestly believe you can win?"

He's right, we're clearly at a disadvantage, even if I'm the equivalent of all eight Pawns. On a side note, Raiser's peerage...appears to only consist of girls. Is this guy some kind of pervert?

"Hey Raiser, who is that man over there? He looks quite delicious, and strong as well." A pretty woman with wavy purple hair wearing a dress asked.

"That's the son of the war hero, Kurosaki Isshin, and the current Sekiryuutei. He's Rias's Pawn."

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Do you mind if I test him out?"

"I already did so, but you're welcome to see for yourself, Yubelluna. He's pretty good for a newly reincarnated Devil."

"Well then, in that case...!" She raised her staff and her reiatsu spiked. I felt a condensed ball of reiatsu approaching rapidly, but I couldn't see it.

"Danku!" The transparent barrier appeared in front of me, and just in time to block an explosion, creating black smoke that obscured my vision.

"Ichigo!" Buchou's panicked voice reached my ears.

"I'm fine!" I yelled back to reassure her.

The smoke cleared, and it didn't look like she intended to attack anymore.

"Not bad at all. You raised a barrier strong enough to block my bomb spell without a scratch. You certainly are strong. Rias-sama, that's an interesting servant you have." I'm not too sure whether to be happy about being praised by the enemy.

Raiser nodded in agreement.

"Yubelluna is my 'Queen' and my strongest servant. Her bomb spells can take out an average High-Class Devil without a problem. She's even called the 'Bomb Queen'. As I thought, you really are interesting, Kurosaki Ichigo. Though, I can't say the same for the rest. Hmm...As a handicap, how about I give you all ten days to train? Fighting you all right now wouldn't be as interesting."

"Are you trying to mock me, Raiser!?"

"Wait, Buchou! We should accept his offer." I stopped her from saying anymore.

"Ichigo!?"

"He and his peerage are all already participating in the official games. Between a full peerage that has experience in the Rating Game, and a half completed peerage that has no experience, it's quite clear who has the advantage." Buchou's protests stopped after hearing my logic. Raiser nodded, apparently agreeing with it.

"Not to mention, that absurd regeneration of his. I've faced several enemies who could regenerate, but I've never met one that can regenerate organs in an instant. Fighting him now without knowing its full extent or a way to overcome it is just suicide."

"Good, it's not just your power, your intelligence is also quite impressive, Kurosaki Ichigo. Rias, your servant is giving sound advice. You should take it."

Buchou didn't say anything, but her expression showed that she didn't intend on fighting now.

"However, Kurosaki Ichigo. You say you will take my offer of 10 days of training. Are you saying that you'll find a way to overcome my regeneration within that time?"

"Yeah, I'll definitely find a way." We don't have much of a choice. Otherwise, Buchou would be forced to marry him.

"Interesting! If it's you, the son of Kurosaki Isshin, and the Sekiryuutei, you might just find a way! I look forward to fighting you, Kurosaki Ichigo. Rias, I'll see you at the match."

After that, he left with his peerage through the magic circle.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

I slumped back into the sofa.

"...That...was really close."

"Ichigo...?" Buchou called me in an uncharacteristically small voice.

"Hm?"

"...Thank you. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have challenged Raiser on the spot and...we would have lost..."

"It's fine. I was once as rash as you. If it had been the me from back then, I would have rushed into battle too. More importantly, we need to come with a strategy and a training schedule immediately."

"About what you said to Raiser, are you really going to try and overcome his regeneration?"

"It's not like we have a choice. It's either that or you get married to him."

"...Even I do not know the extent of his regeneration. Up until now, Raiser has participated in 10 Rating Games, 8 of which he won and 2 of which he lost on purpose. In those Rating Games, the limit of his regeneration was never shown."

"So the odds are stack against us, huh? That's fine, I'm used to it. Let's get down to business." The club members gathered around the desk.

"First, we have to decide a place to train. Urahara-san's shop is not an option, it's in the town, and there's a chance that we'll be found out if we don't restrain our attacks. We need a large, secluded area to train properly."

"I own a villa in the mountains. Hardly anyone goes near the area, so it'll probably be safe to train there." Buchou suggested.

"That's good enough. Next are trainers. There's Urahara-san and my dad for sword training, Yoruichi-san for hand-to-hand combat training and Tessai-san for Kido and control exercises. Koneko can probably work on hand-to-hand combat with Yoruichi-san. Yuuto and I will be training with Urahara-san and my dad. Kido and magic are similar enough, so Akeno-san, Asia, Buchou and I can train with Tessai-san. Does anyone else have any suggestions?" Everyone shook their heads.

"Most of our techniques are self-taught." This was what Buchou, Akeno-san and Koneko said.

"My sensei is Sirzechs-sama's Knight, so he's probably been told not to help us. But, if it's Ichigo's mentors, they must be strong." Yuuto said.

"Alright. Finally, how are we going to explain a 10 day absence to the school?" We can't exactly let the normal students get suspicious of us.

"We can just say that the Occult Research Club is taking a 10 day field trip to places with reported supernatural activity in the region. We'll each have to turn in a report, but other than that, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Alright, everything's set. Let's pack our things and gather here early tomorrow morning. I'll contact our trainers."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

When I told the four trainers about the situation, they agreed to come help us, so here we were, the Occult Research Club, plus 4 others, climbing up a mountainside up to the villa. We asked Ishida, Chad and Inoue to watch over Yuzu and Karin for the 10 days. Yuuto, Koneko and I were carrying all of the bags, as physical training. It isn't heavy at all to me, so I could climb up at a normal pace.

We reached the villa an hour later. The villa was constructed from wood, giving it a homely appearance. It's usually hidden from human eyes with magic, but the spell was lifted for training. There are huge plains and dense forests in the area, so the training grounds definitely aren't a problem.

We set the bags down in the living room. We went to separate changing rooms and changed into our jerseys. Buchou, wearing a red jersey, smiled and said, "Let's start our training."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

**Lesson 1: Sword training with Urahara-san and dad.**

Yuuto and I were standing in a clearing with Urahara-san and dad. Yuuto's training partner was Urahara-san and mine was dad.

"You're open!" Dad leapt out and struck me in the side with a bokkuto.

"Gh!" I grunted in pain and swung mine at him, but he ducked easily and we fell back into the pattern of dodging and striking. Yuuto and Urahara-san were pretty much doing the same.

I thrust the bokkuto at dad's face, but he sidestepped it and swung his bokkuto at my left. This time, I was prepared for it and turned to block it. But, he swung his chokkuto upwards and knocked mine out of my hands. Then, he struck me in the stomach and sent me to the ground. Moments later, Yuuto was also defeated and fell near me.

"Your mentor and your father are certainly monsters, aren't they?"

"Yeah, I knew I couldn't win, but I didn't expect to be this outclassed."

"Still, they're very effective trainers. I can feel my reaction time slowly decreasing."

"Hey, this is no time for you two to be relaxing! Get up, we're continuing!" Dad yelled at us. We got to our feet, picked up our bokkutos and charged at them.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

**Lesson 2: Kido and Magic training with Tessai-san.**

Akeno-san, Asia, Buchou and I were being instructed in Magic by Tessai-san.

"Unlike Reiryoku, magic energy is gathered from the entirety of your body. Gather as much energy as you can and produce it as a block of energy."

We did as he told us. Asia gathered a softball-sized ball of magic, Akeno-san and Buchou had created balls of energy the size of my head. I, on the other hand, had gathered just as much energy, but it was expanding rapidly and getting out of hand.

"Dammit...!" I crushed the ball of energy between my hands. Tessai-san nodded.

"As expected, Kurosaki-dono has the most power, but also the worst control. Your magic is still too unstable to perform spells, so I will teach you advanced control techniques instead. But first, let me settle everyone else." Tessai-san turned to Buchou and the others.

"What is most important for magic to work is imagination. Observe." Tessai-san created several softball-sized balls of lightning around him. Then, they started dancing around him, forming different shapes, like squares, pentagons, stars...then, they combined into a single ball and flew up towards the ceiling before bursting into shining specks.

"Magic primarily involves manipulating elements. High-level magic users can create elements, like what Gremory-dono and Himejima-dono can do. However, for beginners like Argento-dono, it is better to manipulate a nearby source."

He placed his hand over the bottle of water on the table. Instantly, the water in the bottle froze into the shape of spikes, ripping the bottle apart.

"Gremory-dono and Himejima-dono are already experienced magic users, so you two will be wearing these bracelets to train." He showed us two simple metal bracelets.

"What are these?"

"These are magic-restraining bracelets that Urahara-dono created. With these on, you will only be able to use a twentieth of your magic. Wear these and train until your spells have regained their original power. Your reserves and full power will increase substantially."

Buchou and Akeno-san put them on and staggered when they felt their power being restrained. They stepped outside and started training. It's clear that their spells are nowhere near as powerful as before.

"Argento-dono, let me settle Kurosaki-dono's training, then I'll start teaching you basic elemental manipulation."

"Yes."

"Kurosaki-dono, please follow me."

He led me away from the villa and to the base of a waterfall a distance away.

"While I would normally start with basic control techniques like Urahara-dono, ten days is not enough for results to show, so you'll be using an advanced technique instead. Stand at the base of the waterfall and exert your reiryoku to cut the waterfall vertically in half."

"...What?"

"This waterfall possesses enough force to resist your weaker attempts to cut it, but your strongest will blow the water away instead, so this is the best control exercise for you. When you are able to properly control your reiryoku, controlling your magic will also come naturally."

I sighed and stood near the waterfall...and was drenched by the water. Sputtering, I pumped reiryoku through my hands. But, nothing happened. I pumped more and more reiryoku into my hands, and the water started to slow down. Then, the water started to fly in different directions. Too much power, huh? I reigned in some of my reiryoku and was immediately drenched again. Looks like I'll be here for a while...

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

**Lesson 3: Hakuda training with Yoruichi-san.**

"…Hah!" I tried to kick Yoruichi-san, but she caught my leg and held me in place. Koneko attacked from behind, but Yoruichi-san turned and threw me at her. I slammed into Koneko and we both fell to the ground hard. I recovered first and saw that she had jumped up to a branch. I followed her and struck again, this time aiming for the branch to try and make her lose her balance. It seemed to work at first, but she shunpoed to the branch behind me and kicked me down to the ground.

*CRACK*

A loud snapping sound echoed throughout the forest. Koneko had uprooted the tree Yoruichi-san was standing on. She tossed the tree, but Yoruichi-san had already jumped off, landing in front of Koneko and flipping her over her shoulder, throwing her next to me.

"You two are too slow. At this rate, you'll never land a hit on me." Yoruichi-san grinned at us.

"Oh really?" I swept her off her feet with a kick. She couldn't react in time and fell, but shunpoed behind me in midair and smashed me into the ground.

"Not bad. I'll have you two work on your speed next. It's simple. Just tag me three times and you win. Let's go!" She ran off deeper into the forest. Koneko and I immediately chased her. Oh, we're gonna be here for a while…

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

**Lesson 4: Zanpakuto and Boosted Gear training with Zangetsu and Ddraige.**

I entered Jinzen to train with Zangetsu and Ddraige in my inner world.

**[Now then, Boost all the way to your limit, partner.]**

Ddraige instructed me.

"Boost!"

**[Boost!]**

This process continued for almost an hour before I felt my power increase all the way to the level of the old man. My body started to sweat profusely and felt like it was about to explode.

**[Now, release that power! Explosion!]**

"Arrrgh!" I threw out that power through my hand and a gargantuan ball of reiryoku shot out and struck the ocean surface. A bright light temporarily blinded me, and when my sight returned, I saw a hole in the ocean that was being rapidly filled up by surrounding water. By the looks of it, my attack vaporized the water.

**[It's a crude method, but it's the best way for you to get used to Boosted Gear. Look, the gauntlet is starting to change, right?]**

He was right. The metal started to expand and sharpen, giving it a more scaly appearance. It extended all the way up to my elbow and a second jewel appeared at the other end.

"This is..."

**[Dragon Booster Second Liberation: Boosted Gear Gift. With this new form, you can transfer your own stored power to other people or objects, enhancing them. But to unlock it this early...Partner, as usual, your growth rate really scares me.]**

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Ichigo, it's time for our training to begin." Zangetsu called out to me. He pulled his Shikai and I did the same.

"Ichigo, the current way you use Getsuga Tensho, launching it as a wave of light in a single slashing motion, is not the only way it can be used. The longer you charge your Getsuga, the stronger it becomes. The faster the blade, the faster the Getsuga moves. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, but my Shikai is pretty bulky, how am I supposed to increase its speed?"

"Think back, when you first fought your inner Hollow, how did he use me?"

"He used the cloth to spin...Ah, I see. A continuous circular motion to ensure that the speed of the blade is always maximized."

"Exactly. Now, try using it."

I grasped the chain attached to the hilt and started spinning the blade. It was slow at first, but it gradually picked up speed until all that could be seen was a glowing, spinning blur.

"Now! Release it!"

"Getsuga Tensho!" The result...was completely out of my expectations. It wasn't a crescent-shaped wave that shot out. It was more like...a curtain of red light. The red light tore up the ground as it moved in a circular motion. When it formed a complete circle, a pillar of red light shot up from the ground. It seemed that becoming a Devil had also changed the color of my Getsuga.

"Hm. Not bad. However, this technique can only be used if you have enough time in battle. Now, try doing it in your Bankai."

My training continued until dad finally called me back out for dinner.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

After a quick but delicious dinner cooked by Buchou, Akeno-san and Asia and a bath, we started our night training. While we searched for information on the Phenex, Buchou quizzed me on the leaders of the Three Factions.

"Our greatest enemies are the angels led by God. What is the name of the group of the top angels, as well as their names?"

"They're called the Seraphim, right? There're four of them, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel."

"Correct. Next is our own Maous. What are the names of our Yondai Maou-samas?"

"Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus. Come to think of it, aren't there supposed to be 7 Maous? What happened to Satan, Mammon and Belphegor?"

"No one knows. During the founding of the Underworld, there were definitely 7 Maous, but by the time my great grandparents were born, only Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus remained. Continuing, what are the names of the leaders of the Fallen Angels?"

Oh, this one is hard.

"Er, Azazel, Shemhaza, Baraqiel, Kokabiel, Armaros, Benemue, Tamiel and…Shamiel?"

"Good, you've memorized the essentials. That'll be enough for tonight. Let's keep searching for more information on the Phenex."

Finally, it's over. The Seraphim and the Maou were easy, but why the hell do the Fallen Angels have so many leaders!? I turned back to the reference book in front of me, containing information on the 72 Pillars, but no matter how much I searched, there was nothing about the weakness of the Phenex. Watching the videos of Raiser's Rating Games didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I even took a risk and skimmed through the Bible Asia brought with her, but there was nothing in there either. I asked dad, since he fought in the civil war, he might have some information.

"Sorry, I don't know anything about a weakness. In the civil war, the Phenex fought on the frontlines against the Old Maou Faction. Their regeneration was what ensured that they could keep fighting and was a major contributing factor to our victory. The Old Maou Faction couldn't do a thing against them."

So that's a dead end too...

…Only 9 days left. Can I really find a way to defeat Raiser before then?

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

I woke in the middle of the night, thirsty as hell. I walked down to the kitchen and drank a glass of water.

"Ara, you're awake, Ichigo?"

Buchou's voice came from the living room. When I looked, Buchou was sitting on the sofa, wearing glasses and a map and several pieces of paper on the table. Then, I noticed what she was wearing. A red negligee. Doing my best to ignore that, I asked her.

"Buchou, if you're going to plan a strategy, you should have called us here. 10 heads are better than 1."

"That would normally be the case, but the opponent is the legendary Phenex. Among the Phenex who participated in the Rating Game, there has only been a few cases of them ever truly losing, and it has always been against the top 10 participants who all possess abnormal power. The only one among us who has that kind of power is you, but while Raiser is strong, your strongest attacks will probably kill him, which will result in immediate disqualification. The Gremory would have to pay compensation to the Phenex, and I'll probably just end up being married to one of Raiser's brothers. The reason why Otou-sama and the others picked Raiser as my fiancé is probably because of this, so that I would have no choice but to marry him."

"So basically, the only ways to defeat him are to use overwhelming power to overcome his regeneration, which would likely result in his death, or to find a way to seal his regeneration, which no one has been able to do."

"Yes. We're caught between a rock and a hard place."

"...Buchou."

"What is it?"

"Why are you so against marrying Raiser? I mean, he's arrogant and a womanizer from what I could tell, but I don't think he's really that bad..."

"...I am a Gremory."

"...Do you hate it?"

She shook her head.

"No, I'm proud of it. But it's also something that is a burden to me. Everyone looks at me as 'Rias from the Gremory'. They don't look at me as 'Rias'. That's why I'm enjoying my life in the human world. They don't know that I'm a devil from the Gremory. Everyone looks at me as 'Rias'. I really like that feeling. I never felt something like that in the devils' society, and I never will. The only time I feel like myself is when I'm in the human world."

Buchou had an expression of longing on her face.

"I want to be with someone who will love me as 'Rias'. That's my small dream... Unfortunately, Raiser only looks at me as 'Rias from the Gremory'. And he loves me as 'Rias from Gremory'. That's why I hate it. But still, the pride of being a Gremory is very important. It might be a complicated situation, but I want to cherish this small dream I have."

The normally elegant and regal Buchou...is now giving off the vibe of an ordinary girl. I really have no idea what to say to her. But...

"...I like Buchou the way she is."

"...Eh?"

"You treat your servants kindly, you can get angry for their sake, you can cry for their sake and you can fight for their sake. You're nothing like what I expected from nobility. That's what I like about you. And...I like honest and straight-forward people like you." Those were my honest feelings.

...For some reason, Buchou's cheeks seem to be getting redder.

"Um...did I say something weird?"

"No-no-nothing! It's nothing!" She frantically waved her hands in front of her. Well, if she says so...

"Buchou."

"Wh-what is it?"

"You don't want to marry Raiser, right?"

"That's right."

"Then, leave it to me. I'll find a way to defeat Raiser and cancel your engagement. There's still 9 days left, so we'll probably figure something out in that time." I told her with conviction. I wasn't sure, but I think her cheeks were getting redder. Oh well.

"It's getting late. Staying up this late won't do much good for you either. We should get some sleep."

"I agree, just let me clean up this mess first."

"Alright. Good night, Buchou."

"Good night, Ichigo. And...thank you."

"Hm? Did you say something?"

"No. It's nothing."

Hm? Well, whatever. I went back up to my room and lay on the bed, falling asleep soon after.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next morning, after eating breakfast, we listened to Asia's explanation of the Church.

"Ahem. Then now, I, Asia Argento, will explain the basics of the exorcists."

Everyone politely clapped. Well, everyone except goat face...

"Asia-chan! Do your best! Papa's rooting for you!"

"Shut up, goat face!" I roundhouse kicked him in the face and he dropped to the ground.

"Sorry for the interruption. Please continue."

"Um...ummmm. From the place I used to belonged to, there were two types of exorcists."

"Two types?"

Asia nodded at my question.

"The first type is the ones that appear in films and novels. The father reads a section of the book, then he uses the holy water to exorcise the devil from the person's body. They are known as the "Usual exorcists". Then the "Other exorcists" would be the ones that are a threat to us."

Buchou continued from where Asia left off.

"They're the same as the ones you encountered before. Our greatest enemies are God and the exorcists who have received divine protection from the Fallen Angels. They come to destroy us with the power of light they received from the Angels and the body that they've trained to the utmost limit."

The ones like Freed, huh? That guy had a few screws loose and there are more like him? I really don't want to think about that...

While I was thinking about that, Asia pulled out a few things from her bag and placed them on the table. A jewelry box, a bottle of water and the Bible. Buchou carefully picked up the bottle and held it away from her like it was something filthy.

"Next, I'll explain about the traits of holy water, the cross and the Bible. First of all is holy water. If a Devil comes in contact with it, something terrible will happen!"

"That's true. But, Asia, you can't touch the holy water anymore either. You'll be hurt by its holy power."

"Sob...That's right...I can't touch holy water anymore..." Asia became teary-eyed after hearing Buchou. Well, she's a Devil now, after all.

"I will tell you how to make holy water later. I don't know if it will be useful, but there are a few ways to make it."

Asia cheered herself up.

"Next is the cross. The cross is made of silver and is also blessed by God's power, so it will burn a Devil if they touch it." She opened up the jewelry box and showed us the cross inside.

"The last is the Bible. I have been reading it every day since I was a child. But now I'm troubled because I get a headache every time I read even a word..."

""""""That's because you're a Devil.""""""

"You're a Devil."

"...Devil."

"Ufufufu, devils will receive intense damage if the read the Bible."

"Sob...I can't read the Bible anymore!"

Asia started to cry again after we pointed that out to her.

"But this is my favorite line...Oh God, please forgive a sinful person like myself who cannot read the Bible anymore...Ouch!"

Aaaand she received damage again. God, please just ignore this girl's prayer.

Hm...Cross...Bible...Holy water...Holy power...Holy...

"Ahhh! That's it!" I slammed my palm down on the table, scaring everyone.

"W-what's wrong?" Buchou asked me.

"We've been reading too much into the situation! True, the Phenex don't have any weakness that we can exploit, but Raiser is also a Devil, and a Devil's greatest weakness...is holy power! If we use this cross and holy water, we might be able to..."

"Stop, Ichigo. I understand your point, and I'm quite shocked that I didn't think of it first, but Raiser is a top-notch Devil. The level of holy power contained in a cross and holy water won't be able to hinder him for long."

"Buchou, did you already forget about this?" I materialized Boosted Gear for everyone to see.

"...! But still, Devils like us cannot hold a cross, and if even a drop of holy water touches us, we'll be injured."

"I think I have a way around that. Ddraige, can it be done?"

**[Yeah, just leave it to me. All of you should concentrate on your training.]**

"You heard him. Let's train as much as we can before the match."

With renewed vigor, we resumed our training. By the end of I, the results were clear. Buchou and Akeno-san's magic reserves and power had increased significantly after exerting their normal power with the bracelets on. Yuuto had cut down his reaction time by a fair bit and had picked up a few sword tricks from Urahara-san. Koneko's power and speed had increased after we finally tagged Yoruichi-san three times on the fifth day. Asia learned basic elemental manipulation from Tessai-san and while they might not be of much help against Raiser, Asia can at least defend herself. And me? I acquired three trump cards for my battle with Raiser.

Just like that, the ten days of training passed, and the day of the match arrived.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

It's 10 pm at night and I was in my room getting ready for the match. The match starts at midnight and we're meeting at 11.30. All of my trump cards were ready for use, and I have a general idea of what the plan is. The only thing we can do now is to hope for the best. Raiser's peerage, while strong, should not be able to stand up to us after our training. The real problem is Raiser himself. He isn't stupid, there's a chance he could catch on to our plan, which means I have to end it fast. I put on my uniform, since that will be our attire for the battle.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Ichigo-san, can I come in?"

"Sure, come in."

She opened the door and I was slightly surprised that she was wearing her nun outfit, save the Rosario and the veil.

"Asia, that outfit…"

"Y-Yes, when I asked Buchou-san, she said to wear something that I feel most comfortable in. I thought about it a lot, and I found out that this outfit is the easiest for me to move around in... I'm not a Christian anymore, but I haven't forgotten my beliefs. Even though I'm a devil now..."

I see. This girl really thought a lot about this.

"Yeah, you look the most natural in a nun's outfit, since it was what you wore when we first met."

"Thank you very much."

Asia seemed happy after I praised her looks.

"Um, Ichigo-san?"

Asia hesitated.

"Can I stay beside you?"

"...Sure."

I was sitting on my bed and Asia sat next to me. Then she hugged my hand.

"W...what's wrong?"

"...I can't stop shaking when I think there is a scary battle waiting for us. But if Ichigo-san is with me, I will be okay."

"Asia..."

"Ehehehe. I'm not scared if I'm with Ichigo-san after all... Can I stay like this until we leave?"

"Sure."

"...Can I stay with you forever from now on?"

"…Yeah."

I held on to Asia's hand gently and we stayed like that until we left the house.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

11.40pm. All of us had gathered in the clubroom and waited for Grayfia-san. Yuuto had a gauntlet on his right hand and some armor on his legs. He placed his swords against the wall and waited while standing. Koneko sat on the sofa reading a book. She wore fingerless gloves that I've seen some martial artists use. Buchou and Akeno-san were sitting on the sofa and drinking green tea elegantly. Asia sat quietly on the sofa and I leaned against the door with Boosted Gear already materialized. Asia passed the cross and holy water to me and I stored it inside of Boosted Gear. Everyone was shocked when I picked up the cross without a problem and asked me how I did it. They would probably be shocked and get distracted during the match, so I said that I would explain after the match. At 11.50pm, the magic circle on the floor glowed and Grayfia-san appeared.

"Is everyone ready? It's ten minutes before the match."

Everyone stood up after Grayfia-san confirmed us. Grayfia-san then started explaining about the battle.

"When it's time to start the battle, you will be transported to the battlefield with this magic circle. The location of the place is in a different dimension used for battles. You may fight with all your power. It's a disposable space so feel free to fight to your satisfaction."

That's good, at least I won't have to worry about damaging the surroundings.

"Also, aside from the members of the Gremory and Phenex Clans, the heads of the remaining members of the 72 Pillars, the Yondai Maous, the captains and lieutenants of Gotei 13, as well as Ichigo-sama's friends and family will be coming in person to watch the match."

WHAAAAT!?

"Yuzu and Karin are coming!?"

"There is no need to worry. They are the daughters of Kurosaki Isshin and are therefore VIPs. There will be guards stationed in the area. Also…do you really think your father and your friends are incapable of protecting them?"

I paused. That's true, goat face is there. Ishida, Inoue, Chad, Rukia and Renji too. Not to mention the captains and lieutenants. They'll be fine.

Buchou looked troubled.

"Why are the heads of the 72 Pillars watching an unofficial match."

"…Ojou-sama, this is my personal opinion, but I don't think they are interested in the match between Rias Gremory and Raiser Phenex."

"I see, in other words…"

"…They're here to watch the battle between the undefeated third son of the Phenex Clan, Raiser Phenex, and the son of the war hero, Kurosaki Isshin, and the current Sekiryuutei, Kurosaki Ichigo." Yuuto came to the same conclusion as me and Buchou.

"Yes, that is the likeliest reason." I sighed, I'm never gonna have a normal life, am I?

"It's about time. Everyone, please step on the magic circle."

We rose and gathered on the magic circle as Grayfia-san told us to.

"Once you have transported to the battlefield, the magic circle cannot be activated until the match is over."

We nodded and the magic circle activated. The symbol changed, it was no longer that of the Gremory Clan or the Phenex Clan. The light filled the room and I felt myself transporting to the battlefield.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

When the light faded, we were...still in the clubroom? No, the ambient reiatsu had changed. Though everything looks the same, we were clearly in a different place.

[Hello everyone. I am Grayfia, a maid from the Gremory household. Today I will be the arbiter of the Rating match between the Gremory household and the Phenex household.]

Grayfia-san's voice came out of the speakers. Is she in the broadcast room?

[In the name of my master, Sirzechs Lucifer, I will be overseeing this match. With Rias-sama's and Raiser-sama's input, we have created this battlefield. The battlefield for this match is a replica of the school that Rias-sama attends, Kuou Academy.]

So this place is a replica. In other words, we're in the Underworld? I pulled the curtains open, and was greeted by the sight of a pure white sky.

[The location where both teams have been transported to will serve as their base for the match. Rias-sama's base is the Occult Research clubroom in the old school building. Raiser-sama's base is the student council room in the new school building. To all Pawns, please reach the enemy's base to use 'Promotion'.]

Now that I think about it, I've never really used Promotion much. While I probably won't need it, promoting to Queen would probably increase my chances of beating Raiser. Gonna have to keep that in mind.

"Everyone, please put these transceivers in your ears."

Akeno-san passed us earphone-like transceivers. I fit it in my ear.

"We'll be using these to communicate during the match." Buchou said while fitting hers into her ear.

[The match is about to commence. The battle will last until dawn in human time. Well then, please begin.]

*RING*

The school bell rang and the match began.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"First, we need to take down Raiser's Pawns. It'll be troublesome for us if they all promote to Queen."

"Personally, I think the actual Queen is the biggest threat next to Raiser, we should take care of her as soon as possible."

We began strategizing. Honestly, I had expected an all-out blitz from the beginning, but the Rating Game is based on chess, so strategy is of great importance here. Buchou had raised a good point, but I think the 'Bomb Queen' is a bigger threat than the Pawns. After all, they cannot promote unless they reach our base. On the other hand, the Bomb Queen is the most senior member of Raiser's peerage and she can even defeat High-Class Devils on her own. Taking her out at the beginning would be beneficial.

"I agree. However, currently the only ones who can definitely defeat her are Ichigo, Akeno or me. It is unlikely that I'll be stepping out unless it's to confront Raiser, so there's only Ichigo and Akeno. We will focus on defeating the Pawns first. If you or Akeno encounter her first, defeat her immediately. Yuuto and Koneko, if you two meet her, lure her to either Ichigo's or Akeno's location."

"Understood."

"…Yes."

Buchou spread a map of the school on the table. The map was divided into multiple grids, marked with letters and numbers, just like a chessboard.

"There's a forest near our base. It's safe to think that this is also our territory. In other words, the new school building is Raiser's territory. It's likely that there will be an ambush when you enter their territory. The school field is visible from the new school building, so it's dangerous to pass here."

"Which means we have to go through the sports grounds. However, Raiser probably already predicted that, so he'll have a few servants waiting there. The sports grounds are huge, so mobility is an important factor, which means that the servants waiting there are most likely one or both Knights, as well as a few Pawns and the Bishops." Buchou nodded at my deduction.

"Shouldn't we occupy the gym? If we do, we'll have a direct route into the new school building since the gym is connected to both buildings." Yuuto voiced his opinion.

"That's one of the main priorities, but Raiser will probably have servants stationed there as well." Buchou replied.

"Since it's an enclosed space, there will be less servants there than in the sports grounds, so 3 or 4 servants. One is a Rook, since power is more effective than mobility in a small space." I concluded. I can pretty much see where this is going.

"Asia's combat capability is low and she's the only healer in the group, so she'll be staying with Buchou, which leaves me, Yuuto, Koneko and Akeno-san. Two of us will be sent to the gym, either me and Koneko, or Yuuto and Koneko, since the three of us are mainly close-range fighters. Meanwhile, Yuuto or I will be capturing the sports clubroom because it's also an important location, and Akeno-san will be in the open taking care of any other enemies. Since it's an open space, long-range fighters like Akeno-san will be more effective. However, Raiser might have already foreseen that and prepared countermeasures against long-range fighters, so a close-range fighter should be sent after their part is done, just in case. I can double as both a close-range and long-range fighter because of my Kido." Buchou nodded, almost happily at my logic.

"Yuuto and Koneko, go set traps in the forest. Take a map with you and mark the places where the traps are set. I'll make copies and send them to everyone."

"Yes."

"…Roger." The two of them left with a map and a tool box.

"Akeno, after they return, cast illusions and mist around the forest and the sky. Of course, such that they will only respond to someone from Raiser's group. This is basically the entirety of the starting game. During the mid-game, we'll have to move around, so I'll be leaving the illusions and mist to you."

"I understand, Buchou." Akeno-san confirmed. The real battle will be starting soon, so I better prepare.

"Ddraige, are you ready?"

**[Yeah, the opponent is a Phenex. You can't call yourself a Sekiryuutei if you can't defeat an opponent of this level!]**

Yeah, we'll definitely win, for Buchou's sake.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

All of us were standing outside the old school building. As I predicted, the ones going to the gym will be me and Koneko.

"Ichigo, Koneko, this is an important location. You won't be able to avoid fighting once you're inside. Just stick to the plan that we discussed."

"Yes."

"…Got it."

"Then, I'll be going as well." Yuuto sheathed his swords and prepared to move out.

"Yuuto, move accordingly like we discussed."

"Understood."

"Asia will be staying with me, but we'll be moving once we get the signal from Ichigo and the others. You cannot be defeated. As our only healer, our chances of winning will drop drastically if you are defeated."

"Y-Yes!" Asia replied with enthusiasm despite her nervousness.

"Akeno, I trust you to move when the time is right."

"Yes, Buchou."

"Well then, my adorable servants. Are you ready? We can't turn back now. Our enemy is Raiser, who is said to be a genius from the house of the immortal Phenex with a promised career. Now! Let's blow them into pieces!"

"""""Yes!"""""

Yuuto, Koneko and I sped off towards the gym. Along the way, Yuuto split up from us.

"I'll wait for you ahead!"

"Yeah, see you there!"

Koneko and I reached the gym. It's too risky to enter through the main door because it's connected to the new school building, so we will have to enter through the back door.

I slowly and silently turned the door knob and pulled the door open. We walked inside. The curtains were not down, so the interior is visible to us. But, that means we're visible to the enemy too. I felt four reiatsu signatures further inside.

"…Enemy is here."

"We know you're there, servants of Gremory! We saw you coming in!"

We stepped out of the shadows. There were four servants in front of us. A woman in a china dress, twin sisters and a small girl with a bo.

"A Rook and three Pawns, huh?"

Koneko stepped forward.

"…Ichigo-senpai, I'll leave the Pawns to you. I will fight the 'Rook'."

"Well, actually, I can defeat all of them right now."

"…?"

"I was saving my three trump cards for Raiser, but I don't seecany harm in using one of them right now. Let's go, Zangetsu."

I held my right hand out and a large trench knife-like sword appeared in my hand. My Zanpakuto, Zangetsu.

"…! What is that sword!? It's giving off a dangerous aura!" The Rook started to sweat after seeing Zangetsu. I finally managed to materialize Zangetsu on the sixth day of training, after exhausting myself physically and mentally. I still can't use it as efficiently as I could in my soul form, but right now…

"This is more than enough!" I swung Zangetsu at them, and a beam of light shot out of the blade, striking the four of them and blowing away most of the gym.

[3 Pawns and 1 Rook of Raiser Phenex-sama retire.] Grayfia-san's voice echoed throughout the gym.

Koneko stared wide-eyed at the devastation that my swing had caused.

"…I knew Ichigo-senpai was strong, but to defeat those four with one attack…"

"Sorry, were you shocked?"

She shook her head.

"…Just surprised. I'm glad that you're on our side."

"Thanks, we better contact Buchou and tell her of the success."

I pressed the button on the transceiver.

"Buchou, can you hear me? Phase one is a success. The servants in the gym have retired and the gym itself has been destroyed."

"Yes, I heard the announcement. Good job, quickly meet up with Yuuto and proceed to the next phase."

"Understood." I cut communications.

"Let's hurry to the sports…Watch out!" I moved in front of Koneko and intercepted a spell with Zangetsu. A small explosion occurred and pushed me back a bit. This is…!

"Intercepting my spell again. You truly are incredible, no one had ever been able to see through my attacks twice before." A voice came from above. I looked up and saw Raiser's Queen, Yubelluna.

"…Bomb Queen, I knew you would show up soon."

She grimaced when she heard me.

"I rather dislike that moniker, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't use it."

"…Koneko, go meet up with Yuuto. I'll take care of her." I raised Zangetsu, preparing to attack.

"There's no need for that." A bolt of lightning show down from the sky, and Yubelluna barely dodged in time.

"Akeno-san!"

"Ichigo-kun, you're the only one who can defeat Raiser, so you cannot afford to waste your time here. Please leave this to me."

"…Lightning Priestess. I've always wanted to fight you."

Looks like neither of them have any intention of backing down. Further away, I could feel Buchou's reiatsu and Raiser's reiatsu in close proximity. They must have already started fighting. Akeno-san's right, I can't waste time here.

"Akeno-san, I'll leave this to you! Let's go, Koneko!"

"…Yes." We ran towards the sports grounds while the sounds of a battle started behind us.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

While we ran towards the sports grounds, another announcement came.

[3 Pawns of Raiser Phenex retire.]

It must have been Yuuto. I felt his reiatsu rapidly approaching us.

"Yo." Yuuto caught up to us.

"Nice work, the one who took out the 3 Pawns was you, right?"

"Yeah. The clubroom in the sports grounds is an important location, so there were 4 servants there, 1 Bishop and 3 Pawns. I tried to lure them out, but the Bishop didn't take the bait and sent the 3 Pawns instead. Raiser Phenex appears to be fond of sacrificing his own servants. Well, it's a crazy strategy only made possible because of that regeneration. By the way, is that your Zanpakuto?"

"Yeah, my Zanpakuto, Zangetsu. Weird, just holding Zangetsu in my hands makes me feel stronger, as though no one can defeat me."

"Haha, I wish I had some of your confidence." Now that I think about it, his hands were trembling a bit, and it wasn't from exhaustion.

"You nervous?"

"Yeah, even after training with Urahara-sensei, I still can't help but feel nervous."

"It can't be helped, it's our first Rating Game after all. But, you cannot let your hesitation rule you. We have to win, for Buchou's sake."

"…Yeah, for Buchou who saved us, we cannot lose here."

We continued towards the sports grounds. By the feel of the reiatsu…

"The ones stationed here are a Knight, a Bishop and a Rook."

"Yeah, but the remaining servants, except the Bomb Queen who's still fighting Akeno-san, are approaching this place too."

"…Let's hurry. We need to get to Buchou." The three of us reached the sports grounds and a woman's voice rang out.

"I'm the Knight of Raiser Phenex-sama, Carlamaine! I've become bored of trying to sniff through each other's strategy! Rias Gremory's Knight! I challenge you to a duel!"

"…Well, since she said that, I can't hide myself as a Knight and a swordsman."

"We're supposed to get to Buchou…Well, whatever, end this fast."

The three of us walked into the open.

"I am the Knight of Rias Gremory, Kiba Yuuto."

"Pawn, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"…Rook, Toujou Koneko."

"I'm happy that there are warriors like you three in Rias Gremory's group. Coming directly from the front is something that normal people wouldn't do. But, I love idiots like you. Shall we start then?" She pulled her sword out of its sheath. Yuuto did the same.

"The match between Knights. I have been waiting for this. Personally I would like to engage in an intense sword fight."

"Well said, Rias Gremory's Knight!" They rushed at each other and clashed their swords. It's an honorable one-on-one duel, so I shouldn't interfere.

"You look bored." The Rook, a woman wearing a mask, noted. Then, the Bishop, a girl with a drill-hair style wearing a dress like I've seen western nobility wear and an aura similar to Raiser, showed up complaining.

"Geez. She only think about swords, swords and swords. Their match looks like a mud fight. Carlamaine was making a bitter face when the "Pawns" were being sacrificed. Does she hate the battle strategy of her master, the "King"? And just when I thought I found a cute boy, he was also a sword freak. Geez, what bad luck."

She turned to look at me with interested eyes.

"So this is the Pawn that Rias Gremory is so fond of, the son of Kurosaki Isshin and the Sekiryuutei. He is quite good looking, and it's obvious he's strong. Rias Gremory has good taste in men."

"Thanks for the compliment. Are you a relation of Raiser? Your auras are similar."

"That's right, she's Raiser-sama's little sister, Ravel Phenex."

"…A High-Class Devil became the servant of another High-Class Devil? Her own brother, no less?"

"Well according to Raiser-sama..."

"_Having your sister in your harem has a significant meaning. You know the significant view of having your close relatives? You know how there are people who look up to and also get jealous about it? Well, I'm not a sister-moe type, so I have her in my group as fashion."_

"That's what he said."

"…That guy really is a pervert."

"Now then, here I come, Rias Gremory's Pawn!"

She rushed at me with her fist extended at me. I blocked it with Zangetsu.

"Hoh? Your reflexes aren't bad."

*BAM*

The Rook was knocked back a few feet by Koneko.

"…Please leave this one to me. Ichigo-senpai must fight Raiser with his full power."

She rushed at the Rook with incredible speed, surprising her.

"…Fast!" The Rook raised her arms to block the punch, but was still sent back several feet. She moved to punch Koneko, but she dodged and they started trading blows.

"That Isabella looks like she's having fun. Though, this battle will be over soon. Rias Gremory cannot defeat Onii-sama. She's just wasting her power. All we have to do is keep you all here long enough for Onii-sama to defeat her."

*CRACK*

I turned to see that Yuuto's darkness sword had shattered, though Carlemaine's sword wasn't much better.

"That Sacred Gear won't work on me."

Carlamaine's cracked sword was covered in flames. The Holy Eraser wasn't strong enough to defeat that? Yuuto smiled without fear.

"Well, let me tell you this. This isn't everything to my Sacred Gear."

"What nonsense. Knight of Rias Gremory, it is unsightly for a Knight to…"

"…Freeze." Yuuto said a single word. A blade of ice formed from the hilt of the broken Holy Eraser. Raiser's servants were shocked.

"A-Absurd! Are you telling me you have two Sacred Gears!?"

She swung her cracked flame sword at him but he blocked it with his ice sword. The moment the two sword touched, Carlamaine's flame sword froze solid and shattered. She threw away the hilt and pulled a short sword from her hip.

"We are the members of the all mighty house of Phenex, who rule over fire and wind! Taste it! The whirlwind of fire!"

*FWOOSH*

A gale of flames appeared from the sword and engulfed the area.

"Carlamaine, did she forget her allies are in the area too!?" The Rook, Isabella complained while shielding her face from the heat. Yuuto's ice sword started to melt from the heat. But he just continued to smile.

"I see. You're trying to burn us with those flames. But…"

Yuuto's sword changed again, this time turning into a metal sword with a hole in the middle of the blade.

"Stop."

*WHOOSH*

The flames were absorbed into the hole in the sword, and the field was quiet once more.

"…Multiple Sacred Gears. Do you have a Sacred Gear that takes other Sacred Gears and make them your own?"

"I don't have multiple Sacred Gears nor do I take other Sacred Gears. I just created these swords."

"Created…them?"

"That's right. My Sacred Gear is Sword Birth. It allows to make any type of Demonic Sword I want." He placed his hand on the ground and hundreds of swords shot out of the ground. Carlamaine jumped out of the way.

"…A Demonic Sword wielder. I must have a strange talent for attracting swordsmen with special swords."

"Oh, so there's someone who can wield multiple Demonic Sword like me?"

"No, they weren't Demonic Swords. They were Holy Swords."

"…!"

Yuuto's expression darkened and a wave of murderous intent started pouring out from him.

"…Tell me about that Holy Sword wielder."

"Hmmmm, seems like that swordsman has some connection to you. But since we are swordsmen, talking would be rude. I will answer you with my sword!"

"...Is that right... If your mouth can move, then leaving you on the verge of death will be okay."

The two started fighting again, this time with even more murderous intent than before. Then, multiple reiatsu signatures closed in on us.

"So, it's here."

"Oh, the fight's already gotten pretty intense."

Raiser's remaining servants appeared one after another. 2 Pawns, 1 Knight and 1 Bishop… And Akeno-san and Yubelluna appear to still be fighting.

[Ichigo-san! Ichigo-san, can you hear me!?]

Asia's panicked voice came out from the transceiver.

"What's wrong, Asia!?"

[A while ago, Buchou and Raiser-san started fighting on the rooftop, but Buchou is starting to look tired and Raiser-san doesn't appear to be wounded at all!]

…! I checked, and Buchou's reserves had already fallen to half. This is starting to look bad.

"Yuuto, Koneko! Buchou is already down to half her reserves! We have to end this now! Yuuto, let's use that! Koneko, prepare to jump!" I jumped next to Yuuto and activated Boosted Gear.

**[Boost!]**

My power doubled and I slammed my hand down onto the ground at the same time that Yuuto released his Sacred Gear. This is It! The combination attack Yuuto and I created while training!

"Sword Birth!"

**[Transfer!]**

I transferred my power over to Yuuto's Sword Birth.

*BOOM*

The sports grounds turned into a sea of Demonic Swords. I spotted Koneko high in the air. Looks like she got out in time.

"…Absurd! This is the power of a Dragon!?"

"…Unreal, such a power…"

Raiser's servants lamented in anguish as their bodies were pierced by the swords. Their bodies started to glow and they disappeared.

[2 Pawns, 2 Knights, 1 Bishop and 1 Rook of Raiser Phenex-sama, retire.]

1 Bishop? Weren't there 2!? That means the other one escaped!?

"Impressive. But, even so, you cannot defeat Onii-sama with just that." Ravel Phenex flew down from the sky. Looks like she avoided the attack by flying away.

"…Are you gonna fight?"

"No. Either way, you will still lose."

"Sorry, but we have a trump card against Raiser. The ones who will lose are you guys."

"I see. If you really think so, you better hurry. Rias Gremory will not last much longer."

She's right. Buchou's reserves are still dropping.

"Let's go!"

The three of us rushed towards the new school building.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

On the way, Grayfia-san made another announcement.

[Raiser Phenex-sama's Queen, retire.]

Akeno-san won! She caught up to us.

"Ara ara, they're really going at it."

Explosions rang throughout the area. Buchou's fight is getting more intense.

"Akeno-san, did you have any trouble?"

"The opponent had a bottle of Phoenix Tears with her, so it got a bit troublesome at the end, but I won because I was stronger. Tessai-sensei is a very effective trainer."

We reached the door to the rooftop.

"Promotion, Queen." I promoted to Queen and prepared for the upcoming battle. I opened the door. Buchou and Raiser were fighting, but Buchou's clothes were worn out and she looked exhausted while Raiser didn't even have a scratch on him. Asia was a distance away, nervously watching the one-sided battle.

"Buchou, we're here!" All eyes turned to us.

"Ichigo, everyone!"

"Everyone!"

"…Incredible, for your peerage to completely defeat mine. Your peerage has grown splendidly in just 10 days, Rias. Your own power has definitely increased as well."

"Well, that's thanks to our trainers."

"But…it doesn't appear that you can win. I can regenerate from any wound you give me. Resign, Rias. The outcome is clear."

"Don't be too sure about that. Your opponent is me now. Everyone, retereat back to the clubroom. I'll take him on."

"What!? We can't leave you here!"

"Go, or I can't guarantee you won't be caught by one of my attacks."

They looked reluctant, but slowly left the rooftop one by one. The last to leave, Buchou, turned to look at me.

"Ichigo…"

"Don't worry, I'll definitely win. I'll make sure you'll never have to be troubled by this matter again."

Buchou nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

"You sure are bold, Kurosaki Ichigo. Fighting me one on one. And that confidence…could it be you actually found a way to overcome my regeneration?"

"Yeah, that's right. Shall we start?"

"Let's." He expanded his flame wings and flew into the air.

I materialised Boosted Gear.

"Let's go, Ddraige! Balance Breaker!"

**[Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!]**

A red light shone from Boosted Gear's jewel. My body was covered in red armor from head to toe. I felt my power increase drastically.

"Armor!? You turned the power of the Sekiryuutei into a suit of armor!?"

"That's right! Balance Breaker, Boosted Gear Scale Mail! The power that the Three Factions curse!" I obtained Balance Breaker on the ninth day of training.

_(Flashback start)_

"_Urgh…" I was lying flat on the roof of the skyscraper in my inner world, exhausted after sparing with Ddraige. He wanted me to obtain Balance Breaker, but apparently, it required a sudden change, which I didn't experience, since I'm used to fighting strong opponents._

_**[Partner, why do you want power?]**_

"…_What?"_

_**[Why do you want power? What will you use that power for?]**_

"…_This wedding is something that Buchou doesn't want. That's why, I need to get stronger. So I can defeat Raiser and cancel their engagement."_

_**[No matter the cost?]**_

"_Yeah. I'll protect Buchou. That's…what I swore, on my soul!"_

_*SHINE*_

_Boosted Gear's jewel glowed brightly._

"_What the…?"_

_**[The reaffirmation of your resolve produced a strong enough change in you to activate Balance Breaker. Use this power well, partner.]**_

"…_Yeah. I will defeat Raiser Phenex."_

_(Flashback end)_

"Let's go, Raiser Phenex. Today marks the day of your first defeat!"

I flew up at him with light speed and swung Zangetsu at him, which he dodged. Like that, the decisive battle started.

* * *

(Isshin's POV)

(In the stands)

…That was unexpected. I knew about him finally materializing Zangetsu, but I didn't think he had obtained Balance Breaker too…

"Masaki, are you watching? Our son is growing stronger and stronger."

"It's been a while, Isshin." A familiar voice came from behind me."

"Valdemar Gremory, Rognvald Phenex, long time no see."

"What's with the sudden formality? We're old drinking buddies, just call us by our first names." Rognvald grinned at me.

Valdemar looked towards the battlefield.

"So, that's your son, huh? He's strong. At least Ultimate-Class."

"He'd be stronger if he was fighting in his soul form. Or if he was using his Bankai."

"Bankai? Your son has already obtained the pinnacle of a Shinigami's power. And Balance Breaker as well… Isshin, your son must be a genius."

"He's definitely smart, but he's also hot-headed. He once charged into Soul Society with only 5 companions without any clear plan. Can you believe that?"

"He's alive, isn't he? That alone speaks volumes about his power."

"Yeah, Masaki would have been proud."

"Oh yeah…Sorry about Masaki, Isshin."

"It's fine. It's already been 8 years. And…I've already killed the Hollow who killed her, so her soul is probably in Rukongai somewhere."

"By the way, why isn't your son using Bankai?"

"His body won't be able to take the strain of both Bankai and Balance Breaker at the same time. The way he is now, he can only use one at a time. I agree with his decision to use Balance Breaker though. The Scale Mail would be more useful against a Phenex than his Bankai."

"Do you really think it'll be enough to overcome my son's regeneration."

"Don't worry, when he said he found a way to overcome your son's regeneration, he wasn't talking about Balance Breaker. Just sit back and watch."

"…Honestly, I'm torn between wanting my son to win and wanting him to lose."

"Why? You don't like Rias?"

"That's not it. Any man would be lucky to marry Rias. But, my son has become too confident in Phenex's regeneration. In a Rating Game, where killing isn't permitted, that might be fine, but if he were to meet an overwhelmingly powerful enemy in real life, he'd be killed in an instant. He needs to understand, the Phenex are not invincible."

"In that case, just leave it to Ichigo. He'll defeat your son, and teach him some humility."

The three of us turned back to the match.

Ichigo, you have to win.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Rikkujokoro!" Six staves of light appeared and bound Raiser, keeping him in place.

"Hyoga Seiran!" A massive blizzard appeared and froze the area solid.

"Kuh! Something like this…!" Raiser flared his power and flames shot out from his body, slowing chipping away at the Bakudo binding him and melting the brunt of the blizzard, though some got through and started to freeze him solid.

"Haaaa…!" He released as much flames as he could and smashed the six staves. The blizzard start to cover him, but eventually melted away. But, I was already moving.

I jumped up above Raiser and swung Zangetsu down at him.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A massive…no, gargantuan wave of red light shot out from Zangetsu and smashed into the left half of Raiser's body, completely obliterating it.

"Gah! Dammit!" He used his remaining arm to throw a ball of flames at me. I swatted it aside with my arm, but noted that the armor that the flames had touched had cracked.

**[Be careful, partner. Phoenix flames can burn through the scales of dragons.]**

Is that so? But, it can't helped! I have to stay on the offensive! It's time. I released the cross from Boosted Gear and held it in my left hand. Raiser had already completely regenerated. He punched at me with a fist covered in flames. I clenched my left hand and returned the punch. Our punches hit each other in the face, or in my case, my helmet. Shit, it's hot! But, I smirked.

"Got you."

"Wha…!?"

He coughed up a large amount of blood and had a shocked expression on his face.

"…!? It's not regenerating!? Why!? You! What did you do!?"

I opened my palm, holding the cross by the chain and letting it fall out for him to see.

"Cross!? You have a cross!?"

"That's right. This is the answer I arrived at. Rather than specifically looking for a weakness in the Phenex, we should focus on the weakness that all devils have in common: holy power!"

"I-Impossible! Crosses are supposed to inflict intense pain on Devils! Even if you're dragon armor, holding it in your hand shouldn't be…!"

Looks like he realized it. The material my left hand is covered in is organic while the rest of the armor isn't, plus it's constantly giving out a pulse.

"D-Don't tell me! You gave your left arm to the dragon in your gauntlet!?"

"Correct! I had Ddraige change my left arm into that of a dragon's! Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to hold a cross!"

"Are you mad!? Your arm will never go back to normal!"

"What about it!? It's a small price to pay in order to defeat you!"

His face showed a hint of fear for the first time.

"I see…So, you're willing to go that far…Rias, you've gotten a truly loyal servant. But, this level of holy power isn't enough to defeat me!"

"I know that! That's why, I also prepared this!" I took the holy water out of storage and poured it on the cross.

**[Boost! Transfer!]**

The power stored in my gauntlet was sent to the cross, which started crackling with bolts of holy power.

"Cra…!" Raiser realized how much damage this could do to him and tried to pull back, but I was already in front of him. I sent my fist straight into his gut, which made a cracking sound, most likely the sound of his bones breaking. He slumped forward.

"…This is an important marriage that's needed to preserve the future of the Pure Blood Devils, you know? Are you aware of what you're messing with?" He asked me in a low, pain-filled voice.

"I know. Even so, I have no regrets. This is what Buchou wants. To ensure that she never needs to feel sorrow over matters like this, that's the duty of a servant."

"…I see. If it's to you, I suppose I can't complain about losing. Your resolve…was splendid…" He fell face-first to the ground, his body glowing and disappearing.

"…Checkmate."

[King, Raiser Phenex-sama, retire. Match set. Winner, Rias Gremory-sama.]

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

I released the Balance Breaker and stumbled. Damn, using it for the first time was really exhausting.

"Ichigo!" Buchou and the others rushed up to me. Yuuto caught my arm and steadied me. Asia used her Sacred Gear to heal the wounds I had sustained. Once that was done, Buchou unexpectedly hugged me.

"Buchou…?"

"Ichigo…thank you." She…was crying. I awkwardly patted her head to comfort her.

*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

"That was quite an impressive fight, Ichigo-kun."

"Sirzechs-san…" The one who appeared was our Maou-sama, Sirzechs Lucifer.

"Sorry, this was meant to be an important occasion for Pure Blood Devils, but it ended up like this…"

"It's fine, this is the outcome I was expecting."

"Even so, I feel like I did something horrible. So, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. My father and Lord Phenex seem to have accepted this outcome too."

"Kurosaki Ichigo-kun." This time, the ones who appeared were middle-aged versions of Sirzechs-san and Raiser.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Valdemar Gremory, the head of the Gremory Clan and Rias's father. This is Rognvald Phenex, the head of the Phenex Clan and Raiser's father."

I shook both of their hands.

"It's nice to meet you too. Though, I wish we could have met under better circumstances."

"This outcome is fine with us. It was because of our foolish pride and greed that this got out of hand in the first place. Rias, can you ever forgive me?"

"…You're still my father, and I'll always love you, Otou-sama." Buchou hugged her father who returned it.

"Ichigo-kun." This time, the one talking was Lord Phenex.

"I must thank you. You taught my son an important lesson. The Phenex aren't invincible and he cannot rely solely on his regeneration to win."

"Er…You're welcome…?" I awkwardly accepted his gratitude.

"Now then, it's time for you to get going." Sirzechs-san held a card out and a magic circle appeared on the floor. From it, a large shape appeared.

"This is…a griffin?"

"That's right. Ichigo-kun, take Rias back to the human world."

"Huh? What about everyone else?"

"It's fine. Ichigo, take Buchou home. We'll catch up later." Yuuto replied.

"Well, if you're sure… Buchou, shall we go?" I climbed onto the griffin's back and held my hand out to her.

"Yes." She took my hand and got on, wrapping her arms around my waist.

"Then, we'll see you guys back at the clubroom!" Everyone smiled and waved as the griffin took off.

* * *

(Sirzechs's POV)

"So, that's Isshin's and Masaki's son. He's certainly impressive. With Devils like him around, the future of the Devils' certainly looks bright." Lord Phenex commented.

"I agree. But, now that he's awakened his Balance Breaker…" My father trailed off.

"Yeah. The Vanishing Dragon…the white dragon will surely appear soon." I finished.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

As we flew overhead, I looked down to see everyone else looking up at us. Ishida, Chad, Inoue, Rukia and Renji were waving, along with the captains, lieutenants and my family. The exceptions were Byakuya, though I could vaguely spot a small smile, Kenpachi, who was grinning maniacally, sending shivers down my spine, Kurotsuchi, who didn't seem interested in much, and the old man, who was too stiff to do something like that. Soon, we flew past them into the night sky. Unlike the human world, the sky of the Underworld was purple, which gave me a strange sense of calmness.

"…Idiot." Buchou touched my cheek and trailed down to my left arm, now a dragon's claw, a sorrowful expression on her face.

"…You gave up your arm just so you could use a cross…?"

"It's no big deal. It'll never go back to normal, but Ddraige said there was a way to temporarily regain a human appearance, though he didn't say what it was."

"…You may have canceled this engagement, but there may be more to come, you know…?"

"I don't think your father would do that. Even if he did, I'll just keep fighting. No matter what price I have to pay. Because I'm your Pawn, after all."

Then, something covered my lips. It was…Buchou's lips!? Kiss!? A kiss!? Before I could react, Buchou had already pulled back.

"My first kiss. It's something that Japanese girls treasure, right?"

"Eh…Uh…? Your first kiss? Are you sure about giving it to me?"

"You did something that's worth a kiss. It's your reward." That's a pretty nice reward, though I'll never say that out loud. At any rate, I'm glad Buchou is smiling again.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

This…must be some kind of nightmare.

"So, like how I just explained, I, Rias Gremory, will be living in this house. I might be inexperienced but please take care of me."

"M-Masaki! We've been gifted with not one, but two new daughters!"

For some reason, Buchou insisted on moving in with us after the match. She also moved into my apartment and took up one of the guest rooms.

Asia was sitting next to me, teary-eyed and pulling on my sleeve, though I'm not sure why.

My left arm had temporarily regained a human form, after Ddraige told us the method for dispersing the dragon power in my arm. Though, the method is a bit…

"Ichigo, we have your father's permission. With this, I'm a member of your family. Help me take my luggage to my room."

"S-Sure…"

"Ichigo-san, I will help as well!"

Asia followed me as I carried Buchou's luggage upstairs.

"...Auuuuu. Looks like there's only hope for polygamy... But... But... It will be against the teachings of God... But at this rate...Auuuuu..."

"Huh? What about polygamy?"

"It's nothing."

Asia…seems to be in a bad mood.

"Ichigo, that goes there."

Buchou instructed me as I set the luggage down in her room.

"Yes."

"Ichigo, I want to take a bath after this... Yes. I will wash your back."

"Whoa! What!?"

"Geez! If you are having a bath together, then so will I! Ichigo-san and Buchou-san! Please don't leave me out of this!"

"WHAT!?"

"Asia. I'm sorry but this is how it is. Is it alright if this is a proclamation of war?"

"Uuuu, I don't want to lose but it seems like I will lose!"

…It doesn't appear that my life will ever regain even a modicum of normality…

* * *

And this chapter is finally done. Honestly, I didn't like the way this chapter turned out. I somehow compressed an entire volume into a 17000 word chapter, and some scenes, like the training scenes, weren't very descriptive. Plus, some of the scenes just seemed awkward to me. Hopefully, I'll be able to write the next chapter better.

Next, I'll be updating Prince of Genocide with the character bios, following that, I'll be writing the familiar short story for this story. I wasn't expecting there to be so many fans of Restia among my reviewers. Well then, rejoice! Ichigo's familiar/contracted spirit will be Restia.

Well, that's all for now. Please read and review.


	6. Short Story: Requirements of a Familiar

Alright, this is the short story that I've been looking forward to writing. Ichigo will contract with Restia in this chapter, Asia will be getting Rassei, who will be called Raigo, since Rassei comes from 'Rai' which means thunder in Japanese, and the second kanji of Issei's name, so the same will be done here. 'Rai' for thunder, and 'Go' meaning guardian from Ichigo.

Lucas Bane: Thanks for the review. Ichigo gets a familiar in this story. It's a canon short story, but Issei didn't get a familiar because the slime he wanted as a familiar was killed.

Jose19: He'll be relying on both. It wouldn't be Ichigo if he didn't use his Zanpakuto, but he needs Boosted Gear if he wants to match some of his stronger opponents, like Loki.

Arai Kaji: That was in the anime. In the light novels, they went familiar hunting only after the match with Raiser.

ShadowBloodedge9396: I'm hesitant about adding Bleach girls because I already have my hands full with the canon DxD harem plus one or two others also from DxD.

Double-DecaKiva-DenBlades: Lol, Urahara is a bit more like Ajuka, since he likes to make stuff rather than research on existing things. Yoruichi will be teaching Koneko, but Koneko will reach her limit soon because she still refuses to use senjutsu. I already have a general storyline planned concerning the Kurosaki Clan, and Isshin being part of the Shiba Clan ruins it, so I'm declaring AU from chapter 509 onwards.

All right then, on with the story.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

~Munyu~

…Hm? There's something soft.

~Munyu~ ~Munyu~

It's warm and it smells good…

~Munyu~ ~Munyu~ ~Munyu~

"Mmm…" I froze when I heard a moan. My eyes sprung open. A naked woman's body was next to me, lying in my bed. Big breasts, long crimson hair.

"Ara, you're awake, Ichigo? Good morning." It's Buchou. So I did the rational thing when there's a naked woman next to me.

I screamed.

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ara, what's wrong, Ichigo?"

"What's wrong!? Why are in my bed!? Better yet, why are you naked!?"

It's been a week since the match with Raiser and everything went back to normal. Well, except that Buchou was now staying in my apartment.

"I'm sorry. I felt like sleeping while using you as my hugging pillow. I came in after you went to sleep."

"If you need a hugging pillow, please go buy one yourself! And please stay in your own room!"

"No way. I want to connect more with my adorable servant. What should we do? It might be wonderful to stay like this until it's time to wake up…But, doing something naughty might be a good way to communicate…"

~CHU~

Buchou kissed me on the cheek. My cheeks heated up.

"B-Buchou, I don't think this behavior is appropriate…"

"Oh, are you getting stimulated? It's okay, you can do anything you want to me."

Endure, endure, endure…!

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Ichigo-san, it's almost time for morning training!"

A-Asia! You just saved my sanity!

"Tch! What bad timing." Buchou clicked her tongue. No, that was amazing timing! Good job, Asia!

"Ichigo-san?"

"No, I'm awake! J-Just wait for me downstairs!" I'm thankful for her interference, but there's no way in hell I can let her see me like this! For some reason, she and Buchou seem to see each other as rivals, and fight whenever they're at home.

"Asia, wait a bit. Ichigo and I need to get dressed."

"…!"

Ahhhh! Buchou, why do you insist on adding fuel to the fire!?

*GACHA*

The door was swung open violently, and Asia stood in the doorway, teary-eyed as she saw me in bed being hugged from behind by Buchou.

"Good morning, Asia." Buchou smiled at Asia as she hugged me tighter.

Asia's body shook violently. Then, she began to pull up her skirt.

"I will also get naked! I don't want to be left out!"

"ASIA!?"

…My normal life, where have you gone..?

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"A familiar?"

After school, Asia and I were preparing to start our usual routine of handing leaflets out, but Buchou stopped us and brought up the subject.

"Yes, a familiar. You and Asia still don't have one."

Familiar. An existence that serves as an extension of the Devils' own limbs. They perform the more menial tasks so that Devils can concentrate on more important tasks. They're the ones who are usually in charge of handing the leaflets out, which is also a task for new Devils, which is why Asia and I have been running around at night for the past one and a half month.

Buchou held out her hand and a red bat appeared with a puff. It had the same colour as Buchou's hair, which gave it a regal look despite having a slightly cartoonish appearance.

"This is my familiar."

"And this little one here is mine."

Akeno-san summoned a palm-sized Oni.

"…This is Shiro."

Koneko was hugging a small white kitten. Someone named 'Koneko' had a kitten as a familiar, huh?

"This one is mine."

Yuuto summoned a little bird that landed on his shoulder. So, everyone here has a familiar except Asia and I.

"Familiars are a basic necessity for Devils. They can help their masters. They can be used for information transmission. They can be used for pursuing. You and Asia also need one since it can be used for adapting to certain situations." Buchou said while patting my cheek.

The magic circle on the floor started glowing.

"Buchou, the preparations are done." Akeno-san reported.

"Alright then, Asia, Ichigo, let's go get your familiars."

We stepped onto the magic circle and teleported to the destination.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

When the glow died down, we were in an unfamiliar forest. The ambient reiatsu was much denser here than in the Human World, so we must be in another dimension.

"In this forest, there are many types of creatures that Devils use as familiars living here. Today, I'll have Ichigo and Asia get their familiars."

Forest of Familiars. The canopy is dense, so not much sunlight is getting through, though Devils can see in the dark, so it doesn't really matter. Then, a reiatsu signature appeared in the branches of a tree next to us.

"Get daze!"

"Kyaaa!" Asia was startled by the loud voice coming from above and hid behind me. I looked up and saw a young man in worn out clothing.

"My name is Satooji of Madara Town! I'm a devil in training, aiming to become the Familiar Master!" A weird guy arrived.

"Satooji-san, I've brought the ones I told you about." Buchou introduced us to the weird guy.

"Ho… A delinquent-looking guy and a blonde beauty, huh? OK! Leave it to me! If it's me, any familiar immediately would be 'get daze'!"

This guy places strong emphasis on the word 'get'. And don't call me a delinquent!

"Ichigo. Asia. He is a professional in terms of familiars. Today we will catch your familiars in this forest while receiving advice from him. Okay?"

""Yes."" We nodded to her.

Satooji-san asked us in a friendly manner.

"Now, what type of familiar do you desire? A strong one? A fast one? Or a poisonous one?"

"I don't know, what familiar would you recommend?"

Satooji-san smiled and took out a catalogue. He flipped to a certain page and showed us a ferocious dragon depicted on two pages.

"This is what I would recommend! One of the Dragon-Kings! Chaos Karma Dragon, Tiamat! It's a legendary dragon! It's also the only female among the Dragon-Kings! Even until now, there hasn't been a Devil who has caught her yet! That would be obvious! Since it's said to be as strong as a Maou!"

"Who the hell wants a final boss-class familiar!? Are you trying to get me killed!?"

"That sounds good. It sounds like they will get along because they're both legendary dragons. Ichigo, you're my adorable servant, so it'd be nice if you could pull this off."

**[No, that's not a good idea. Tiamat hates me, so she'll probably try to kill you the moment she lays eyes on you.]**

"What did you do to make her hate you so much?"

**[…That's personal.]**

Suspicious…

"I don't need such an absurd familiar. Isn't there anything else that's less likely to turn hostile?"

"Oh, I see. In that case, how about this! Hydra!"

He showed me a picture of a gigantic serpent with nine heads, and a lot of skull marks on the page.

"This one is amazing! It has deadly poison! There are no devils in this World which can endure its poison! On top of that it is immortal! The worst creature in the World which even kills its master! See? Pretty useful right?"

"I SAID LESS LIKELY TO TURN HOSTILE, NOT MORE LIKELY! WHO THE HELL WANTS A FAMILIAR THAT WOULD KILL YOU IF YOU LET YOUR GUARD DOWN!?"

"Well, since you're the Sekiryuutei, this Hydra is less likely to kill you than Tiamat." He casually answered.

"…Buchou, can I please kill this guy?"

"Calm down, Ichigo. Hydra is rare so it would be wonderful. If I remember, there is one deep in this forest… We would be able to return by the end of today."

Buchou looked at the forest. She seriously wants me to get it!?

"You should go enjoy the experience!" Satooji-san flashed a grin and gave me a thumbs up.

"To hell with you! I don't need an all-powerful familiar! I just need one that can perform the usual tasks!"

"That's why amateurs don't understand anything. Listen. You have to catch powerful familiars. And each one has different abilities. If you are trying to become a Familiar-Master, then you have to catch the same one several times, and then pick the strongest male and female among them. You have the two breed and make them give birth to their baby with strong abilities. And also-" Satooji started lecturing.

"Um…I want a cute familiar." Asia said while hiding behind me.

"Okay, got it."

Satooji-san stopped his lecture and replied with a smile. I really want to kill this guy…

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Listen up, Seirei often gather around this lake."

Satooji-san whispered to us as we hid behind the trees.

We were at a beautiful lake, glittering even in the dark. It certainly looks like a sacred spot.

"The water Seireis, Undine, which live in this lake don't often show themselves in front of others."

According to Satooji-san, Undines are elusive high-level Seireis who can control water that can also heal wounds. Apparently, Undines are in high demand because of that ability.

"Oh, the lake's glowing. The Undines will be making their appearance soon."

Satooji-san pointed towards the lake. We looked at the lake. The surface slowly rippled and a figure with light-blue hair and a transparent robe rose out of the water. But, the body…was gigantic.

Insane biceps, calves which were thicker than my waist, and the chest which looks like it had metal pumped inside it, and like a veteran warrior it had many scars on its face.

"…" My mouth fell open as I stared at the unexpected figure.

"That's Undine."

"No no no, no matter how you look at that, that's a freaking body builder! Those muscles are something that can shatter metal! There aren't many openings in its stance, and it looks ready to kill someone!"

"Yeah, Undines always have fights over territory. If you aren't strong, you wouldn't be able to get the lake. The world of the Seireis is also about power. But, it sure is a strong looking Seirei. That is quite rare. I recommend you catch it. A water Seirei specialising in punching sure won't be bad."

"Are you kidding me!? There's no way in hell I'm getting that abomination as my familiar!"

"Hm? But, that's a female, you know? The males are even more muscular."

"I did not need to hear that!" Seriously!? That thing is a female!?

"But she has pure eyes. I'm sure she is a girl with a pure heart as well." Asia says while smiling. Asia, I don't think that thing can be called a girl…

"Ah, another one appeared." Akeno-san pointed out. I turned back to the lake, and saw another one of those monstrosities. Then, they started beating each other!

The thick fist slammed into their opponent's stomach, an uppercut cracked the opponent's chin. One of them low-kicked the opponent's calves making an explosive sound, and the straight punch nailed the opponent in the face.

Both of them were bleeding from all parts of their body. An intense battle had started over the sacred lake.

"It's the fight for the territory. And both of them look like warriors with lots of experience."

Satooji-san started shaking his head and seemed very interested in it.

"Aren't they Seireis? Shouldn't they be using magic or at least a bit classier than a fist fight?"

"Well, violence is the norm in the Seirei world." Buchou shrugged and commented.

"…Can we please go? I think I'm gonna hurl at this rate…"

"Hahaha! Look, boy! The victor will be your familiar! The ultimate fight of Undines! It's a wonderful adventure indeed! Oh! They certainly show a rare way of punching!"

Satooji-san says while laughing and patting my shoulder.

"Go to hell! I don't want a crappy adventure like this!"

"How about we n-name her Dine-chan the Undine?" Asia said while hiding behind me. You seriously want that as your familiar!?

"Asia, that thing is too much for us! There's no way we can control something like that!"

"B-But, I'm certain that Dine-chan was lonely by herself….. I know it." She somehow was able to sympathise with it. I patted her on the shoulder

Come to think of it, which one of them is Dine-chan!?

"Hey, boy! Dine-chan is in crisis! She just received a seoi-nage!"

"You shut up!"

"Haaa….. Okay. Let's just move on to another place. At this rate there will be no progress in this."

Buchou said it while sighing.

Like that, we left the lake and went on to the next place.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Sprite Dragon?"

Satooji-san nodded at my question.

"Yeah, the Sprite Dragon. Just like its name, it's a dragon which uses blue lightning."

We left the battlefield of the Undines and we were told about the rare dragon while on the way.

Apparently, right now there was a super rare dragon which flew into the depth of this forest. Satooji-san suggested that maybe it would be good to catch that.

But, we were introduced to the Dragon King, Tiamat. Is this dragon as strong as that?

"Is that dragon that strong?"

When I asked, Satooji-san smiles.

"Apparently it's still a baby. If you are going to catch it, now is the time. You would definitely not be able to catch it once it matures. It won't be as strong as Dragon Kings, but it's still a Top-tier dragon."

A baby dragon. Maybe we should catch it? I'm the Sekiryuutei, so we might have a good compatibility.

"Owa!" Satooji-san made a weird sound while I was thinking. I looked up and saw a small blue-scaled dragon.

"That's it! The Sprite Dragon!"

Oh, its scales are beautiful. Not bad at all, much better than those damn bodybuilders…

"Sprite Dragon. It's also my first time seeing one. What beautiful scales. It's glowing just like a blue diamond." Buchou looked mesmerised.

"Yes, it's so pretty…" Asia looked at it with an expression of longing.

"Do you want it?"

"Y-Yes, if it's possible."

"Got it, just leave it to me." Since Asia wants it, I guess I'll give up on it and find something else. The moment I moved towards it, the dragon flew away.

"Hey, get back here…!"

'Kyaaa!" I heard Asia scream behind me. When I turned around…A slimy thing was attacking Asia!

"T-This is…!" Buchou screamed too. There are slimy things attacking Buchou too!

*SPLASH*

Those slimy things were falling from the sky and attacking Koneko and Akeno-san too! They're moving! These things are alive!?

"Slimes." Yuuto muttered. Just like the ones from RPGs. Wait a minute, aren't these things supposed to be poisonous!?

"My c-clothes… are melting!"

Just as Asia screamed, the slime started melting the girl's uniforms!

"What the hell!?"

Yuuto and I did our best to look away, but it was seriously distracting!

"N-Noooo!" Asia screams. A tentacle wrapped around Asia's leg and started to make its way up. It went inside her ripped clothes and started to move.

When I looked, Buchou and the other girls are also having their important parts tangled by the tentacles. Satooji-san who was having a proper look at them says it while having a nosebleed.

"This one doesn't have a name, and it is a slime which melts clothing. And also just mere tentacles. These guys often work together to attack their prey. Even if they are called monsters, slime only targets the clothes and the tentacles target woman's secretion so they aren't harmful….."

"Shut up! We don't need a freaking lecture! Y-Yuuto! We have to do something!"

"Y-Yeah!" Yuuto created a Demonic Sword and I summoned Zangetsu. We charged towards the girls while trying to cover our eyes and struck at he slimes, but the slimes just regenerated whenever we cut them!

"Damn! Yuuto, we have to destroy their bodies in one hit! Use a fire Demonic Sword!"

"Yeah!" He created another sword wreathed in flames and knocked the slime off of Koneko, burning it to ashes.

I knocked a slime off of Buchou.

"Shakkaho!" I hit it with a Kido and it burned too.

"Nice job, Ichigo!" Buchou was hitting them with her Power of Destruction. Akeno-san was striking them with lightning bolts. Koneko was ripping them to pieces, but they slowly regenerated.

"I-Ichigo-san!" Asia was having trouble with the slimes! But, before the rest of us could do anything, blue bolts lightning struck the remaining slimes and tentacles! I turned around and the Sprite Dragon was flying in the air. Then, it turned to stare at me.

*BUZZ* *BUZZ* *BUZZ*

A strong current ran through me as a blue lightning bolt hit me, and I turned charcoal black. I blew out a ring of smoke.

"Ummm…Ichigo-san? Are you okay?" Asia and the rest of the girls were fine, while Yuuto and Satooji-san were also fried. The hell!?

"Sprite Dragon only attacks those who it acknowledges as its enemies. So it must have thought that the girl isn't its enemy."

"Looks like it eliminated the slimes and tentacles which were attacking Asia. Maybe this dragon is a male. I heard that male dragons will also take a liking to females from other races and sees other males as threats." Buchou said while patting the dragon's head.

My eye twitched a bit.

"Asia, you want this guy as your familiar?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Then, you'd better hurry, because I really feel like killing this guy." I slowly lifted Zangetsu.

"P-Please don't bully him!" She hugged the dragon to her chest.

"Well then, let's hurry with the contract ceremony. Akeno, assist Asia."

"Yes, Buchou."

Asia created a magic circle on the ground with the dragon in the middle. Akeno-san helped to supply the magic for the ceremony.

"…..In the name of A-Asia Argento, I order you! Y-You shall become my familiar and respond to my contract!"

"Normally the Sprite Dragon is a dragon who won't pledge to a devil, but it seems that girl has a very pure heart. Something like this has never happened before, but it seems like the contract ceremony will finish safely." Satooji-san said. Well, she's a girl who was raised learning the teachings of God, and still retains that faith even after becoming the Devil, so that's the proof of how pure her heart is.

The light from the magic circle starts to gradually lose its light. Because the contract has finished, the baby dragon flew to Asia and started to play with her.

"Ufufu. You are tickling me. Raigo-kun."

"Raigo?"

"Yes. He is a dragon which uses lightning and I also used Ichigo-san's name as well. Even though he uses lightning, I want him to be like Ichigo-san. …Would it trouble you?"

"No, it's fine…Well, let's get along, Raigo-"

*BUZZ* *BUZZ* *BUZZ*

A bolt of blue lightning hit me, Yuuto and Satooji-san again.

"…" I lifted Zangetsu again.

"Please don't hurt him!" Asia hugged Raigo to her chest. I slowly lowered Zangetsu.

"Let's just hurry up and find my familiar before I kill something."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"How about that Ziz?"

"It's too damn big! How am I supposed to use it in the Human World!?"

"What about that Minotaur?"

"It looks like it would rather gore me than become my familiar!"

"That Chimera?"

"Are you even trying to help me!?"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Hmmm…Difficult one, huh?" It's been almost 3 hours, but we still haven't found a familiar. Satooji-san wasn't exactly being helpful with his nonsensical suggestions.

"You say that Devils feel a slight connection with their compatible familiars, right?"

"That's usually the case. It happened for me, Akeno, Koneko and Yuuto, and apparently for Asia too."

"Hmm… But, I'm not feeling a pull of any kind…"

"Haaa… It's getting late. Let's try again tomorrow."

We gave up and started to walk back to the entrance of the forest.

"…_re…"_

"Hm…?"

"…_Co…..re…."_

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Buchou asked me.

"Did someone say something?"

"…_Come…here…" _This is…a girl's voice?

"I didn't say anything."

"Me neither."

"Hmmm…It might be your compatible familiar. There have been cases where familiars share a telepathic link with their masters. Let's go check it out!"

"…_Come here…"_

"…It's coming from over there."

I walked towards the darkest and thickest part of the forest, and everyone else followed behind me. As we walked deeper and deeper into the forest, I heard Satooji-san.

"Hm?"

"What's wrong, Satooji-san?" Buchou asked him.

"If I recall correctly, the Sealed Shrine is in this direction."

"The Sealed Shrine?"

"In the middle of the forest, there is a shrine that has an unbelievably powerful barrier around it that I found a few years ago. I've tried several times to break it, but nothing worked. I even hired several High-Class Devils to help me, but we couldn't even so much as scratch the barrier. So, I thought that a really powerful creature is living inside. I was going to ask one of our Maou-samas to help break the barrier, but they've been too busy to help with something like this."

"_Come here…Come here…"_

The voice grew louder and louder until finally, we reached a clearing with the shrine that Satooji-san mentioned in the middle.

"_Step inside..."_

"…The voice is telling me to go in."

"Hm? What about the barrier?"

"Maybe it's been lifted. Ichigo, go in." Buchou told me.

I slowly walked up to the shrine and carefully placed my foot on the first step. Then, the second step, then the third…until I was at the door. The others tried to follow me, but…

"Kyaaa!" Buchou was pushed back by an invisible force as she neared the shrine.

"The barrier's still up!? But, how did Ichigo get in?"

"A barrier that only allows certain people in? That's a really high level spell."

I pushed the door open and looked inside. There was nothing inside. Nothing living, at least. In the middle of the room, stabbed into a wooden platform, was a black sword giving off an ominous aura.

"Ichigo! What's inside?"

"There's nothing here! Just a sword with a weird aura!"

"Huh!? That's all!?"

"…_I've been waiting for you."_

"…!?" I swerved back towards the room. Nothing, just the sword, which was slowly vibrating.

"The voice…is coming from the sword!?"

"What!? Could it be…a Demonic Sword!?"

"_...You're finally here. I've been waiting for a long time. So very long. For countless millennia. I've waited for you, successor of the Maou…"_

"Who are you!? And what do you mean 'successor of the Maou'!?"

"…_And now…" _The sword shook more violently, until the shrine itself started to shake.

"…_You must prove your worth…"_

"...!" The sword shot out from the platform and it flew at me. I dodged out of the way and it collided with the barrier outside, shattering it.

"Ichigo, what's going on!?"

"I don't know! It just said something about proving my worth! Looks like I'm gonna have to fight it!" I materialised Zangetsu and prepared to fight. The sword flew back inside, and I blocked it with Zangetsu.

"…!? It's pushing me back!?"

The sword exerted great force on me, slowly forcing me backwards. I knocked it upwards through the roof. The shrine started to collapse, so I jumped out. The sword stopped in mid-air and aimed for me again. Once more, I blocked it with Zangetsu and knocked it back.

"_Ichigo."_ I heard a familiar voice in my head.

"_What's wrong, Zangetsu?"_

"_This sword…is very similar to a Zanpakuto. That sword is not its true form."_

A sword similar to a Zanpakuto. It must have some really absurd power.

"Getsuga Tensho!" A gigantic wave of red light shot out of Zangetsu at the sword.

"_O black blade of darkness, capable of crushing the scales of dragons, annihilate mine enemies - «Arc Blast»"_ The sword said some weird incantation, and huge bolts of lightning, bigger than even the ones Akeno-san could make, descended from the sky and smashed into my Getsuga, completely negating it.

"Wha…!?"

"_...You're wide open..." _The sword shot at me at a ridiculous speed. I tried to move, but...

"Aaaaarghhhh!" The sword got through my Blut Vene and pierced my stomach. An intense pain shot throughout my body. I coughed up a copious amount of blood. The sword removed itself from my stomach and floated in mid-air.

"...My Blut Vene...didn't work!?" That's not possible. My Blut Vene could fend off even some of Balthasar's strongest attacks, and this sword just punched through it like it was nothing!?

"_...It's no use. My...no, this Vorpal Sword's ability to cut anything is absolute. There is no defense in existence that can stop it..."_

"...Vorpal...Sword...?" I've heard that name before. Where...?

"Vorpal Sword...the sword that was used to kill the Jabberwocky in the poem by Lewis Carroll..." Buchou said. That's right, the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass. There was something about the Vorpal Sword in the beginning.

"_...Jabberwocky...? What a nostalgic name. One of the Darkness Seirei like me, created by our lord..."_

"...Darkness Seirei?" This sword...is a Seirei like those bodybuilding freaks from back there!?

"Could it be...? An Ancient Seirei!?" Satooji-san yelled in shock.

"Satooji-san, do you know what that sword is?" Yuuto asked him.

"...A few years ago, I found some old texts in this forest. They were heavily damaged, and written in the ancient spirit language. It took a while, but I translated what could still be read, and they spoke of Ancient Seireis with much more power than the Seirei of today. They could contract with pure-hearted maidens and become extremely powerful weapons. Some of them could even match the legendary swords today! But, I've never once met an Ancient Seirei before, and the texts were at least a few thousand years old, so I assumed they had gone extinct..."

"_...That's right. This Familiar Forest used to be the habitat for us, the Ancient Seirei as you call us. It was once called Astral Zero. And...I am one of the last remaining Ancient Seireis left. In the past, in every generation of female contractors, there was always a single male who possessed the same ability. The reincarnation of my lord and father, the Elemental Lord of Darkness, Ren Ashdoll. It has been many millennia since I last left Astral Zero. Imagine my surprise when I felt the current incarnation of my father enter Astral Zero."_ I'm...the reincarnation of some godlike being?

"_Boy, you possess the same ability as my previous wielder, and I sense the same level of potential within you...no, I should say, you exceed even him. If you wish to wield me, defeat me now..."_ The sword turned and aimed at me again. I deflected it with Zangetsu and stood up, blood dripping from the cut in my abdomen.

"Getsuga Tensho!" I shot another wave of red light at it. It moved to the side and shot towards me. This time however, I was prepared.

"Sajo Sabaku!" Chains appeared in the air and wrapped around the chain and attached themselves to the surrounding trees, halting its movement and keeping it in place.

"_...Something like this can't hold me..."_ The sword released a huge ominous aura and the chains started to crack. They shattered and it shot at me.

"Danku!" A transparent rectangular barrier appeared in front of me. The sword stabbed into it and stopped, but it started to crack. I poured reiryoku into my hands. The moment the barrier shattered…

"Soren Sokatsui!" Twin balls of blue fire shot out from my hands. They exploded upon contact and knocked the sword back. I jumped into the air and extended my hand towards it.

"Kin!" Black chains fell from the sky and pinned the sword to the ground.

"…_This is…!?"_ For the first time, the voice showed a hint of panic. It exerted a huge aura again, but because Kin was much stronger than Sajo Sabaku, the chains were barely being affected. Now's my chance.

"Everyone, get down. I'm gonna use a lot of power in this next one." I charged a Getsuga in my blade, a huge pillar of red reiryoku appearing around me. Everyone braced themselves for the shockwave.

"Getsuga..." I held Zangetsu above my head.

"…Tensho!" A blinding red light descended from my blade as I swung it down, causing me to close my eyes. When I opened them, the sword was lying on the ground, with nary a scratch on it. But...there wasn't any more murderous intent coming from it. Did I...pass?

"…_Well done. You pass…"_ The sword levitated into the air and stabbed itself into the ground.

"Ichigo, perform the contracting ceremony."

"No. Your contracting ceremony isn't strong enough to bind me to you. For us, we have our own contracting ceremony. Boy, hold out your left hand and repeat after me." The Seirei spoke in a clearly female voice this time so that all of us could hear. I held out my left hand as she said.

"Oh noble spirit sealed in the ancient demon sword!"

"Oh noble spirit sealed in the ancient demon sword!"

"Thou shall accept me as thy master, and I shall become thy sheath!"

"Thou shall accept me as thy master, and I shall become thy sheath!"

"Thrice I call out to thee, thrice I command thee!"

"Thrice I call out to thee, thrice I command thee!"

"Thou shall exchange vows with me!"

"Thou shall exchange vows with me!" The moment I finished the incantation, a black light radiated from the sword and surrounded the area, obscuring our vision. When the light faded, a black fog was surrounding the area. No, it's not fog. These are...black feathers. I looked at where the sword was. It was gone, and in its place was a cute girl with dusk-colored eyes and dark-blue hair with a purple ribbon tied to it. She wore a frilly purple dress adorned with a ribbon of the same color at the chest area. But, what really caught my attention were the black feathered wings sprouting from her back.

"...A Fallen Angel!?"

"No, I am not a Fallen Angel, though I suppose I am quite close. Darkness Seirei, Restia Ashdoll. Pleased to meet you, master."

"T-This is...a highest-level Ancient Seirei! The texts said that only the highest ranked Ancient Seirei were able to take a human shape! What a discovery! Boy, you are seriously lucky!" Satooji-san exclaimed in excitement.

"Now then, master, shall we finish the ceremony?"

"Finish it? Isn't it already over?" She shook her head.

"For the highest level Ancient Seirei like us, there is still one more part of the contracting ceremony."

"And...that is?" She giggled in response.

"A kiss."

"...Excuse me?"

"She's right. It was also written in the texts that a kiss is needed to establish a full contract between a contractor and a highest level Seirei. Boy, I'll say it again, you are seriously lucky!" Satooji wolf-whistled at us.

"W-W-W-Wait a minute. Stop right there! I-Is the kiss really required!?"

"Ara. If it's not done, we can't form a full contract. You won't be able to draw out even 10% of my full power, you know?"

"Do it. I normally wouldn't allow you kiss any other girl, but her power is undeniable. It'd be a pity if you weren't able to use all of it." Buchou said with a mortified expression on her face.

"Well, since that's settled…" She tiptoed and wrapped her arms around my neck, bringing her face close to mine. I blushed, not just from the close proximity, but also because now that I look carefully, she is pretty cute.

"Ah, before that, may I know the name of my new master?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo." She smiled demurely.

"Nice to meet you, Ichigo." She pressed her lips to mine, and I felt a searing pain on the back of my left hand. She broke the kiss and I took a look. An intricate seal had appeared on the back of my left hand.

"The sign of our contract, the Spirit Seal. I look forward to working with you, Ichigo."

"Y-Yeah, same here. So, how do I summon the sword? Do you just change into the sword on your own?"

"Well, I can still turn into my Elemental Waffe form on my own, but now that the contract has been formed, you can summon the Elemental Waffe on your own with an incantation. You should already know it."

I had no idea what she was talking about, but then, an incantation floated into my head.

"…Delicate queen of immaculate darkness, piercing the truth of the world, join hands with me and become my blade!" A black glow engulfed Restia and extended to my hand. When it died down, the same black sword from before had formed in my hand.

"This is…"

"My Elemental Waffe, Vorpal Sword, the Sword that pierces the Truth. The strongest Demonic Sword."

Just like with Zangetsu, holding the Vorpal Sword seemed to fill me with power, an effect slightly ruined by the killing intent emanating from Buchou behind me. I cautiously turned my head towards her.

"…Buchou?"

"…We're done here. Let's go back." She turned and walked back to the entrance, the rest of us trailing behind her. Why is she mad?

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ichigo, can I have some chocolate?"

"Here."

"Ichigo, I want dinner~"

"It's almost done, just wait a bit longer."

"Ichigo, can I have a massage?"

"Lean forward a bit."

It was about halfway through the massage that something occurred to me.

"Wait a minute, aren't our roles reversed!? It's more like I'm the familiar!"

"What are you talking about? It's only natural that a gentleman pampers a lady, is it not?"

"Even so, this is just weird!"

"Hmmm…Well, can you really imagine me doing something like this?"

…Good point. As someone who gives off an aura of regality and elegance, I really can't imagine her doing menial work.

"…Fine, whatever." I sighed and resumed the massage with less vigor than before. Buchou and Asia were glaring at us, hard.

"Hmmmm…" Restia seemed to be deep in thought about something.

About an hour later, I was in the bathroom taking a shower.

*CLACK*

The bathroom door opened and someone came in.

"Hm? Sorry, but I'm taking a shower right now."

"I know. I came to wash your back."

"!? Restia!? Uwaaah, why the hell are you naked!?" Standing behind me was Restia, as naked as the day she was born, though I'm not really sure about how Ancient Seirei are created.

"Well, I thought about what you said, so I thought I should at least do this for you."

"There's no need! I can do it myself!"

"Oh good, I don't know how to use this modern shower. Ichigo, help me take a bath."

"So it ended up like this after all!"

"Oh stop complaining already. You sound exactly like my previous wielder."

"You did this to your previous wielder too!?"

"Not me, his harem. He reacted very much like you whenever one of them did something remotely improper. It's a miracle he didn't go mad."

…My predecessor, you have my respect for not going insane!

Slender arms wrapped around me.

"…You really remind me of him. You're both oriental. You're both respectful to girls, but a bit dense. You both have the same drive to protect your loved ones. Rather than the reincarnation of my father, you're more like his reincarnation. Kazehaya Kamito, my previous wielder…and my first love."

"…How did he die?"

"Of old age. After bringing about the end of the world in order to save the world."

"Hm? What does that mean-"

*BAM*

The bathroom door swung open violently, and a naked Buchou stomped in. Oh shit!

"…What are you two doing?"

"B-B-B-Buchou! No, this is…!"

"Ara, isn't it obvious? We're deepening our bond, as master and servant."

*CRACK*

I heard the sound of something shattering as Buchou shook, apparently from anger.

"…Me too…"

"Huh?"

"I'll do it too! Ichigo is my servant, we need to deepen our bond!" She yelled as she climbed into the bathtub too.

* * *

"Buchou!?"

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ah, that was hell…" Buchou and Restia started a magic battle in the bathroom. Restia won of course, with her experience and powerful magic. She won some kind of bet apparently, I wasn't really listening. I was busy trying to soundproof the bathroom so the neighbors wouldn't hear anything.

Well, at least I can finally get some sleep. I pulled the blanket over me and closed my eyes.

*SHUFFLE* *SHUFFLE*

Hm?

*SHUFFLE* *SHUFFLE*

Something was squirming under my blanket and it wasn't me.

I pulled it up.

"Restia!?"

Under the blanket was Restia, lying on the bed next to me.

"What are you doing here!?"

"What else could I be doing? Sleeping."

"In my bed?! While I'm in it!?"

"You're my master, aren't you? It's only natural for us to sleep together."

"Natural my ass! Go sleep in one of the guest rooms!"

"…I've been alone for thousands of years, you know? It's been so long since I've had companionship…" She said in a sullen voice while teary-eyed.

"Urk…!"

"How cruel. To make me sleep on my own again."

"Gh…! Fine, you can sleep here…" I must be a sucker for teary-eyed women…

"Ufufufu, you're so kind, master." She snuggled up to me. I absentmindedly stroked her head, making her squirm.

"Fuaaa…! I-Ichigo, stop that…!"

"Oh, so your weakness is being patted on the head, huh? Good to know."

"Hmph, Ichigo is a meanie." She pouted and turned away.

"Yeah, yeah, go to sleep already."

"…Thank you, Ichigo."

"Hm? What for?"

"Fufufu, nothing. Let's sleep." I closed my eyes and was about to doze off when…

*BAM*

My bedroom door was swung open with a loud noise. Standing in the doorway was…!

"Buchou?!" Buchou stood at the door, breathing heavily.

"Ara? Do you intend on going back on your word? The agreement was that whoever won the battle would get sleep with Ichigo from now on."

"…Ichigo is my servant! I won't hand him over so easily! I'm sleeping here too!"

"Arghhhhh! Why are you two so insistent on sleeping with me!?"

""You be quiet. This is between us!"" Both of them yelled at me.

"Since it's come down to this, we'll just have to settle this with another battle!"

"Agreed! I underestimated you before, but I won't make that mistake again." Buchou launched spheres of Power of Destruction at Restia.

Restia spread her wings and shook them, causing feathers to fall off and drift in the air.

"Blow forth and howl, tempest of the demon sword - «Blade Storm»!" The feathers turned into countless small blades and collided with the spheres.

"Hey! The apartment! The apartment will be destroyed!"

They ignored me and continued bombarding each other with spells.

"Fuaaaa…Why is it so noisy…? Eh!? Buchou-san! Restia-san! What are you two doing!?"

"Asia! Quick, get down!" Asia ducked just as one of Restia's attacks flew over her head. She made her way over to the bed while crouching down.

"I-Ichigo-san, why are those two fighting?"

"I'm…not too sure." I started creating barriers to block out the sound and to keep the battle contained.

I sighed and pulled the blanket over us.

"Let's just ignore them and go to sleep. I'm too tired to deal with this crap…"

"Y-Yes. Fuaaaa…" Asia yawned and fell asleep shortly after.

I lay down on the bed, trying to ignore the tremors caused by the magic battle next to me and trying to sleep.

…My normal life, please return soon…

* * *

*BRRRM* *BRRRM*

In the depths of Ichigo's inner world, unknown to Zangetsu, Ddraige, his inner hollow and even himself, the world trembled, and several windows of the skyscraper cracked, black miasma slowly leaking out. Something within him, dark and primordial, had stirred.

* * *

And Ichigo has Restia contracted to him and obtained the strongest Demonic Sword. Damn, him dual-wielding Zangetsu and Vorpal Sword is gonna be so badass!

And something within Ichigo has stirred. Fans of Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance should already know what it is.

The incantation for the Vorpal Sword is something I came up with on my own, since the real incantation was never revealed in canon.

Next update will be the second chapter of Prince of Genocide, followed by the 11th chapter of Infinite Dragon Emperor, and then the start of the Excaibur Arc.

That's all for now. Please read and review.


	7. Life 5: Holy Sword Dystopia Part 1

Finally, back to this story. I'm starting to think that I should just abandon the other two and work on this one and maybe another.

animecollector: If you want to read Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, just go to Baka-Tsuki. The entire series up till this point has already been translated.

The Fox Boss: Just google Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance Restia and check under images.

Lucas Bane: I'm not too sure about giving Ichigo anymore contracted spirits since it's stated that having more contracts decreases the power of each individual spirit. I may or may not consider adding Est. Probably not unless someone can give me a very good reason. Also, who is Ethereal Queen? The only Ethereal Queen I know is that superboss from Star Ocean, which I have not played in years.

Hakuryukou79: Sona appears in this chapter. You're right that she wouldn't miss out on a chance to meet the son of a war hero, and the Sekiryuutei to boot.

Bladedknight: Unless someone can give me a good reason, I probably won't add Est.

Maddmonk: God, I hate NTR so much. Restia doesn't actually like Ichigo in a romantic sense yet, she's simply taken a liking to him because of his resemblance to Kamito, personality wise. That'll change eventually. Anyway, I don't think it's NTR considering Kamito is long dead.

Arai kaji: You expected any different? If he couldn't tell Orihime was in love with him, which was pretty much known by just about everyone else, don't expect him to be able to tell, unless someone says it straight to his face. Gasper will make his appearance at the same time as in canon.

Double-DecaKiva-Denblades: Ugh, no. I hate Yaoi. There are two genres of H I despise most: NTR and Yaoi in that order. I have nothing against homosexuality, but you won't see me writing Yaoi. Ever. Yes, Soul Society will play a bigger role soon. The majority of my original arc starting after the treaty arc will take place in Soul Society after all.

tensa zangetsu1: That was the plan from the beginning. Reverse trolling, fuck yeah!

njkdo123: Yes, Ichigo could have easily overpowered Raiser, but that would have likely resulted in his death, in other words, disqualification, which defeats the purpose of the victory in the first place. You can't regenerate if there's nothing left of you after all. It's stated in canon that Phoenix flames can burn through dragon scales. Ichigo is using Balance Breaker for the first time, so it's not completely stable yet.

Guest: Notice how Royd Lloyd emulating Juha Bach was able to defeat Kenpachi and take strikes from Yamamoto without a scratch, yet the sheer heat of Tenchi Kaijin tore through him with no effort? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that while Blut Vene can take most physical attacks, it can't completely block heat. Since Ichigo is currently only a practitioner of Blut Vene, it's only natural that some of Raiser's Phoenix flames can get through his Blut Vene. I've read on the Bleach wiki that Ichigo's reiatsu in Shikai was supposed to be gold in the manga, but somehow, I just don't see gold fitting him. That's more of Sairoarg's thing.

Akuma-Heika: Wow, that's a lot of reviews, so I'll write one paragraph per review. You're right. I think it's because Bankai Ichigo keeps getting his ass kicked in the fillers that I keep underestimating just how powerful Bankai is. It wasn't until I saw Zanka no Tachi that I realized how powerful Bankai as well as Uryu's Letzt Stil is, and also how weak the Vandereich's Vollstandig is compared to the original Letzt Stil. Any Shinigami with Bankai would automatically rise by a level when it's activated. Letzt Stil Uryu would be at the level of a Maou. Zanka no Tachi was still kind of underwhelming to me. You'd think that the Bankai of the oldest and strongest Zanpakuto would have more powerful abilities than the four shown in canon. I don't see how Ichigo has the ability to manipulate souls unless you're talking about konso. Since when could Cao Cao use touki? I think you have that mixed up with Sairoarg. The reason why Cao Cao seemed so powerful in canon is because he is ridiculously skilled and Issei is untalented. Ichigo has talent in spades, not to mention countless power-ups, so yes, he can run circles around Cao Cao.

About the names of the Fallen Angels, I'm just following canon. I'm not a Christian, so I don't have a bible to check, nor do I intend to get one. I purposely changed the Pawn Pieces to four normal and four Mutations, because frankly at Rias's level at that time, there's no way 8 normal pieces would have been enough to turn Ichigo into a Devil. It's stated that light is fatal to humans in canon too, though I'm guessing that's when they're attacked by it. Ichigo has little control which is why he wastes more reiryoku than necessary when casting Kidos. He will get a lot better though. I'm still a high school student living with my parents, so I honestly have no idea how much a rented apartment would cost, which is why I threw in a random value. By the time the Quincy arc started, I think Ichigo was halfway through his second year at high school. I could be wrong though, I'm guessing based on his age. You're right, he can get stronger than the Divine Dragons eventually. It's just that that would require a ridiculous amount of time. Once his base stats increase, he'll get stronger faster. The problem is that Ichigo has too much reiryoku. He's more than likely to make low to mid-level Kido blow up in his face. The high level Kido require more reiryoku, so he doesn't need to try as hard to cat a high level Kido.

He's walking vertically up a tall cliff with only his bare feet and reiryoku. Of course he'll have trouble. There's already a similar story about Issei travelling back in time to his younger body, which is basically the same idea, so if I do get around to writing that story, I'll stick to my original idea.

Rule of most Shonen manga: Protagonists get ridiculous power ups when the going gets tough. Damn, you're right, it should have been more than double.

Thanks for the help on the spoiler thing. Milicas had not been introduced at that point in canon yet, so I completely forgot about him. What do you mean 2360? Ichigo has always been a ridiculously powerful Shinigami, he doesn't need to boost that many times to reach Yamamoto's level, it's just a matter of how much he can store. The point of overwhelming the Phenex is to wound them to the point their regeneration is no longer effective, but are still alive. Ichigo has so much power and so little control that he's more likely to outright kill Raiser. I'm not sure whether boosting is automatic or it has to be manually activated, since canon seems to suggest both at various parts, so I'm going with manual, meaning he can choose to boost 10 seconds after the previousl boosting, but not before. You could say Ichigo is strong as Issei's Cardinal Crimson Queen, but no, Cardinal Crimson Queen could only be achieved after Ajuka modified Issei's Evil Pieces. Hyoga Seiran is an anime-exclusive Hado used by Kuchiki Koga in the Zanpakuto Rebellion filler. Judging by its power, it's probably a 70s level Hado. Ddraige also tells Issei to be careful of Raiser's flames in canon because they can burn through the Scale Mail. I'm not sure what Tannin can train Ichigo in now that Ichigo already has Balance Breaker, other than stamina, but let's face it, anyone can help him train that.

I'd like Ichigo to get Skíðblaðnir, but I don't have any idea how. The reason Issei got it was because he didn't have a familiar yet and wanted to be a harem king. Ichigo already has Restia and has no such ambitions. Just because he missed being thought of as a delinquent doesn't mean he likes it when people call him that right in front of him. He liked being thought of as a delinquent because it kept the fangirls away. Not right now, Restia hasn't developed romantic feelings for him yet, but yes, she will be in the harem sooner or later. You must not have gotten very far. Solomon developed those powers because he was an incarnation of Ren Ashdoll. Therefore, any incarnation of Ren Ashdoll can be called a Maou, including Kamito and Ichigo.

Creepy Mae West Kozi: Sorry, I have no idea how high rent is for apartments, so I just threw in a random value.

By the way, has anyone noticed how Ichigo's Getsugas seem to decrease in power shortly after they're upgraded? When Ichigo uses Getsuga Tensho for the first time and back on Sokyoku in Shikai, both were strong enough to leave a huge gash in the ground. Then when Hollow Ichigo takes over, the Getsugas are reduced to small waves of black that barely scratch Byakuya. Then when Ichigo regains his Shinigami powers and merges it with his Fullbring, his Getsuga turns into a beam of concentrated reiryoku and is strong enough to disintegrate the top half of Tsukishima's mansion and disperse a rainstorm effortlessly and then in the Quincy Blood War arc, they return back to the form of normal Getsugas, albeit a bit bigger. Seriously, Tite Kubo just keeps dumbing Ichigo's powers down just so he can 'justifiably' give him a new power later. I'm not complaining about new powers, overpowered protagonists are my favorite, but couldn't he at least keep Ichigo's power constant?

Ok, rant over, on with the story. Also, to any Christians and/or believers reading this, I apologize in advance for anything in this story that can be misconstrued as an insult to Christianity. I have nothing against Christianity, it's just needed for story progression.

* * *

_I...can never forgive Excalibur._

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

...

"Oh, I see, I see. In that case, I leave my idiot son in your capable hands, Restia-chan."

...

"Yes, I'll take good care of him. You don't have to worry about him."

...

"Wait a second! If anyone is taking care of Ichigo, it would naturally be his master. Otou-sama, just leave Ichigo to me. I'll make him a fine Devil."

...

"M-Masaki, did you hear that!? Our fourth daughter just called me Otou-sama!"

...This is surreal.

As I ate my breakfast, it took every last bit of willpower and self-control I had to not break down and sob uncontrollably.

It's now the Saturday of the week that I contracted with Restia, and I returned to Karakura. Of course, Buchou, Asia and Restia followed as well. This...was not how I was planning on introducing Restia to everyone else. Worse, she and Buchou were starting another catfight.

"Ara, from what I've seen, isn't Ichigo the one taking care of you?"

"The same can be said for you too, you know?" One could almost see the sparks flying between them. Then, as I had feared, they started fighting again. Knowing that it was futile to try and stop them, I just created a sound barrier around the house so that our neighbors wouldn't hear the commotion and surrounded them with several Dankus so that they wouldn't damage anything.

As they were fighting, Buchou suddenly spoke up,

"Oh, by the way, Ichigo, the other club members are coming here later."

"What? Yuuto, Koneko and Akeno-san are coming?"

"Yes, we're having our club activity here. I'm very sorry about this, Otou-sama."

"It's fine, it's fine. Actually, I'm happy that Ichigo has more female friends. I was beginning to wonder if he was gay."

"Shut up, old man!" I kicked him in the face and sent him flying into the wall.

"So anyway, we're having the club activity here. Please take care of us, Ichigo."

"Aha! You just admitted Ichigo is taking care of you! It's your loss, Rias Gremory!"

"What!? Curse you, Restia Ashdoll, I won't admit defeat so easily!"

*BAM* *BAM* *BOOM*

As I ignored the increasingly noisy explosions, I wondered just how this club activity would turn out.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"And this is Ichigo when he was 5."

"Ara ara, so he ran onto the beach naked."

*BAM*

"What the hell are you showing, shitty old man!?" I roundhouse kicked dad in the face and sent him out the window. The club activity that was supposed to take place was completely ruined when dad brought the photo albums.

"...Ichigo-senpai's naked past."

"Gah! Don't look, Koneko!" I snatched the album out of her hands.

"...Young Ichigo..." Buchou, please stop staring at the photos! And why are your cheeks red!?

"...Ichigo when he was a child... Ichigo when he was a child... Ichigo when he was a child... Ichigo when he was a child..."

She appeared to be muttering something while drooling. Why is she so interested in my childhood photos? Is she a shotacon or something?

"I think I know how Buchou-san feels!"

Asia grabbed Buchou's hand. Her eyes were sparkling.

"So you also know how I feel. I'm so happy."

"Fufufu, this really reminds me of when Kamito was a child, though his childhood wasn't as happy." Restia giggled to herself as she looked at another album.

"...Ara...?"

Buchou seemed startled as she looked at a photo in one of the albums. If I remember correctly...that's the album containing photos from my infancy.

"What's wrong, Buchou?"

"This photo..." I looked at the photo she was pointing at. It was a picture of mom, dad and me when I was an infant and also...Sirzechs-san, Grayfia-san, Valdemar-san, a brown-haired version of Buchou, and a tiny Buchou!?

"Oh, how nostalgic." I jumped. Somehow, Goat Face somehow came back in without making a sound.

"This was taken when you were 1. I visited the Underworld with Masaki and she brought you along too, since we couldn't find anyone to babysit you."

"Then, Buchou and I met for the first time back then?"

"Yeah, in a sense, you two are childhood friends."

"Hm..." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Buchou fidgeting in her spot.

"Pu..." Yuuto snickered as he looked at another album.

"Hey, Yuuto! Don't stare at it!" I made a grab for the album, but Yuuto slipped away.

"Hahaha, don't worry, don't worry. Just let me enjoy this a bit longer."

AGH! Stop staring! As I tried to take the album back, Yuuto turned to a certain page and his eyes widened. I looked at the photo he was staring at. This is...when I was 6.

It was a photo of me and another boy and someone who I think was his father. My memories from back then are foggy, but I think he used to live near here. We used to role-play a lot, but he moved away to another country after a year because of his father's work, right before first grade.

But, why is Yuuto interested in this photo? He can't be the boy, the hair and eye color don't match...

Yuuto pointed at the father. Or more specifically at the thing he was carrying.

A sword.

I think it's a replica, but the father was carrying an old eastern sword.

"Do you remember this?" Yuuto's tone had turned deadly.

"Err...sorry, my memory is pretty bad when it comes to things like this."

"So even things like this can happen. To think I would find a clue in an unexpected place." Yuuto laughed to himself, but his eyes were filled to the brim with raw hatred. That photo...was the start of yet another incident.

"...This is a Holy Sword."

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

*KLANG*

The dull clanging of metal reverberated through the field.

"Got it!" I caught it easily with my gloved hand.

"Nice catch, Ichigo." Buchou smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. The entire Occult Research Club was practicing baseball in the backyard of the old school building, where Yuuto and I had our spar. And no, this wasn't a request from a client.

"Next week is Kuou Academy's 'Ball Tournament'. It's a battle between clubs that we can't lose."

She said passionately. Apparently, the Ball Tournament is one of Kuou Academy's biggest events. It's an event where we play ball-related sports, such as baseball, soccer, basketball, and tennis. These matches include contests between classes, genders and obviously, there are also some between clubs. Whether or not you belong to a sports club, it's club mandatory; naturally, that includes the Occult Research Club. What the clubs actually play is announced only on the day of the event, we don't know what it will be. When club member numbers differ, the setup is for fair play, at least number wise. According to the Student Council announcement, some sports may require more players, so we need to make sure we have the reserves. And in conclusion, we were practicing sports likely to come up. Yesterday was basketball. The day before was soccer. Today happens to be baseball.

"Batting practice is fine now. If it's baseball, then Koneko will be the fourth batter."

"...Affirmative."

Well, that was expected. Koneko's physical strength is on par with mine.

"Now! We'll practice a 'knock'! Now everyone! Put your gloves on and spread out!"

Buchou was in high spirits. She was so energetic and lively that she was basically on fire.

"Ufufufu. Buchou likes these kinds of things."

Said Akeno-san while giggling.

"Yeah, I noticed our Onee-sama really hates losing."

"Yep, that's it. Of course, there's no way that we can lose unless we make mistakes."

I agree. As devils are fundamentally stronger than humans, on the sports day we will have to hold back. Naturally, we wouldn't have a hard match. On the flip side, we had to learn the rules and features of baseball. Which is the reason why Buchou is making us practice.

"Even if your brain knows, your body has to as well."

Is what she said. She's really fired up about this, though I can't imagine why.

"Here, Asia! Here I go!"

*KLANG*

Buchou hit the ball towards Asia.

"Haaan! Aaau-aaau-aaau... Aah!"

The ball went through Asia's legs. Needless to say, Asia's sports sense is below average. At times, she'll even trip over nothing.

"Asia! If you fail to catch it, go fetch it!"

"Y-yes!"

Ever since the Rating Gamre, even though we won in the end, Buchou was disappointed in herself for not being able to do much, which is why she's become even more competitive than before.

"Next is Yuuto! Here!"

*KLANG*

Buchou hit the ball to Yuuto. Well, since it's him, he should be fine. That's why I thought but...

"..."

*SMACK*

Yuuto just stood around in a daze and the ball hit his head. Oi oi...

"Hey, Yuuto! Snap out of it!" I yelled at him. He started and looked around in confusion.

"...Ah. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He picked the ball up and threw it back to Buchou. Buchou caught it and sighed.

"Yuuto, what's wrong? You've been acting rather strange lately. It's not like you."

"I'm sorry."

Yuuto sincerely apologised. Buchou was right. This guy has been thinking about something serious lately. Even during discussions in the Occult Research Club, he would look somewhere else and not participate. I even heard that it became a hot topic in his classroom, "A prince in his thoughts." The girls were worried and excited over his expression. Even I was starting to get worried. This started shortly after the visit to my house. Was it because of that photo? During the match with Raiser, he was acting strange when the enemy Knight mentioned a Holy Sword.

"Hmmmm..." Buchou picked up the baseball manual. Buchou tends to read about things when they come up. Even at home, she reads complicated texts written in the Devil's language. She's really studious, I don't usually pick up a book for anything pther than academic purposes.

"Ara ara, by the way, Ichigo-kun, did you know? Buchou recently started reading love manuals."

"Love...manual?"

...There are manuals about love? Seriously? But, if she's reading love manuals...That means Buchou has found someone she likes?

"I see...a lover, huh?"

"Ufufufu, are you worried? You don't have to worry about it. It'll be alright. It's impossible for Buchou to have a lover while you're not around."

"...? Isn't it fine? Buchou said she wanted someone who would see her as just 'Rias' and not as 'Rias from the Gremory Clan'. If she's serious about this guy, I'll support her."

"Ufufufu. You're quite calm, aren't you? If Buchou was in your shoes, she wouldn't be as calm. Ufufufu, it's her first time. You'll be in trouble, Ichigo-kun."

"...?" What is she talking about?

"Okay, continuing!"

Buchou swung her bat once, and the training recommenced.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next day at lunchtime, after finishing the bento Buchou made for me, I prepared to go to the clubroom for the final training session.

"Hey Asia. Finished lunch?"

"Asia, your boyfriend is calling."

The glasses wearing girl sitting near Asia, Kiryuu Aika, said so with a perverted face. I've only been here for a while, but I've already pegged her as a straight, milder version of Honsho.

"B-b-b-boyfriend!?"

Asia became extremely flustered. Well, I guess that's natural when someone mistakes your close friend as a boyfriend.

"Eh? I'm wrong? But the two of you are always together, so I thought you two were going out."

"T-t-that's...Auu..."

Asia's face began to turn crimson. I can practically feel everyone's gazes drilling into my back.

"Hmmm. Is that so? You guys look like a couple. You 're always together and get along well, kinda like a combination. You guys are also living together with your parents' permission, right? A young boy and a girl living under one roof. That'll be... Mufufufu. By the way, I was the one who told her about 'bathing together'! So?! Did you enjoy it?!"

"So that was you!?" Last night, Restia and Buchou were fighting as usual about who would bathe with me. I had long given up trying to stop them, but then Asia unexpectedly entered the fray, shocking all of us. Restia and Buchou were one thing, but Asia!? So it was her who put the idea in Asia's head!?

"Hmm. That's weird. Asia li... Mugah!"

Asia covered Kiryuu's mouth with both hands.

"Aaaah! Please stop, Kiryuu-san!"

Asia became teary-eyed. Does Kiryuu know some secret of Asia's that she doesn't want me to know? I really can't understand girls...

"By the way, Kurosaki, do you know about the rumors spreading about you?"

"Rumors?" That's the first time I've ever heard about it.

"Yeah, like 'The wild beast Kurosaki Ichigo, playing around with bishoujos. He's got a hold on Rias-senpai and Himejima-senpai. He's forcing them to do evil, sexual acts against their will. 'Fufufu. The dignified ojou-samas are making such slutty faces for me! You pigs!' Then you abuse them with words and violence.'"

"WHAAAAAT!?"

"There's more. The beast finally sank his filthy fangs into the school's mascot, Koneko-chan, who has a loli body. Then he instigated intense sexual intercourse that could easily break her body. He feasted on an underdeveloped body. 'Senpai... please stop...' But her words were unheard by the beast. His lust for sex then reached the angel who had just transferred to our school; he attacked Asia-chan on the first day. 'I'll teach you about Japanese culture with my special afterschool lesson.' He made the angel fall down to the abyss at dawn... You took her into your apartment. The never ending hell took place in your small room. The sadist Ichigo's bishoujo hunt never ends. ...Well something like that."

"Seriously, that's how everyone sees me!?"

"Well, none of the girls believed in the rumors except this one. The beast's lust for sex finally reached the school prince, Kiba-kun! That one's really popular among the girls. 'Kyaaa! Who's bending down and who's sticking it in?' Something like that."

I looked around the room and saw that the girls were eying me in a predatory manner while blushing heavily.

"Who the hell spread the rumors!?"

"Isn't that obvious? The boys who are jealous of you."

I turned and gave the boys in the room my death stare, and trust me, it was very scary. It caused even the Sternritters, most of whom were Captain-level, to wet themselves in fear. Of course, that could also be because of the fact that I was covered from head to toe in their leader's blood. The boys shuddered and bolted from the room. I sighed, the damage is done, there's no point getting worked up.

"Anyway, Asia. We were told to go to the clubroom so let's go."

"Okay!"

Asia was still red in the face. Well, maybe what was being discussed was too stimulating for her innocent heart. Even I would get embarrassed if someone mistook her as my girlfriend. Though, I think of her as a little sister like Yuzu and Karin. I can't imagine a life without her. While musing about that, we reached the clubroom.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

When we entered the clubroom, I was surprised to find other people besides the club members there. If I remember correctly, the one sitting on the sofa with Buchou is...

"Seito-Kaichou..." Our Seito-Kaichou is a very popular girl in the school, the third most popular to be exact, with a strict and cold aura around her. Like Buchou, she possesses foreign features. She's more popular with the female students than the males, and her popularity with the girls exceeded even Buchou's and Akeno-san's. Next to her was a male student who joined the student council around the time I transferred in.

"Oh so you didn't mention us to Kurosaki, Rias-senpai? It's also weird not to notice us, when we are Devils as well." I did notice other Devils in the school, but I just didn't think much about it. So they were from the student council?

"Saji, it can't be helped because we are not supposed to contact each other at normal times. Also it hasn't been that long since he became a devil. Kurosaki-kun is responding like he is supposed to."

So as I thought, the entire student council is...

"The Kaichou, Shitori Souna-sama's real name is Sona Sitri. She's a High-Class Devil who is the next heir of the Sitri Clan." Akeno-san explained.

"The Sitri Clan is one of the 72 pillars that survived the Great War just like the Gremory Clan and the Phenex Clan. This school is actually controlled by Gremory Clan, but at day time it is the student council…in other words the Sitri Clan who is in control. The time of being in charge is split between daytime and nighttime."

"You guys are getting peaceful school life because Kaichou and us, the Devil servants of Sitri, are working at daytime. It won't be bad for you to remember that, you know? By the way, my name is Saji Genshirou. I'm in 11th grade, and I am Kaichou's 'Pawn'."

"Oh, the same grade and a 'Pawn' like me. Nice to meet you, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo."

Though he seemed reluctant, he shook my hand.

"Tch...As I thought, I can't stand handsome guys like you and Kiba! I really want to punch you! Don't underestimate me, I consumed 4 'Pawn' Pieces to reincarnate!"

"Huh?"

"Saji, stop that."

"Bu…but Kaichou!"

"The reason we came here is to introduce our new servants amongst fellow top-class devils where we both have this school as our base. In other words it is a meeting to introduce you and Rias's servants, Kurosaki-kun and Asia-san. If you are my servant, then don't make a shame out of me. Besides….."

Kaichou then looked at me.

"There's no way for you to defeat Kurosaki-kun. He consumed 8 'Pawn' Pieces, including 4 Mutation Pieces, he's the one who singlehandedly defeated the third son of the Phenex Clan and he is the son of the war hero, Kurosaki Isshin." Seriously, does every Devil know about my old man?

"8 pieces and 4 Mutations!? Wait, this is the guy who defeated the Phenex!? For this guy to beat that Raiser….. I thought that it was Kiba or Himejima-senpai who rescued Rias-senpai…" He stared at me with morbid fascination and a hint of fear. Kaichou then bowed her head.

"My apologies, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun and Asia Argento-san. My servant hasn't experienced as much battles as you two, so he still has some rude attitude in him. If it's okay, can you please get along with him." Kaichou said to us with a cold smile. I couldn't feel any malice behind it, so that must be how she always smiles.

"Um...It's fine with me..."

"Yes, let's get along!"

Asia replied back with a big smile.

"If it's Asia-san, then I am very happy!"

Saji grabbed Asia's hand and made an attitude opposite to the one he gave me. This little...! I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it hard, making him wince.

"It's fine if you're getting along, but if you dare to do anything to Asia, I'll kill you slowly and painfully." I said with a forced smile while projecting murderous intent.

"You must have a hard time."

"You too."

Buchou and Kaichou both sighed while looking at us.

Kaichou took a sip of green tea and said it with a small voice,

"I love this school. I also think that the work of the student council is worth the effort. That's why I will not forgive those that ruin the peaceful life of this school. Whether they are human or devils. That applies to you, the people in here, and also Rias."

I understood immediately that those words were directed to us the new devils which are me, Asia and Saji. In other words she will not forgive anyone that ruins the school life. So this person loves this school, Kuou Academy, that much. No wonder she is the Kaichou.

"I think this is enough for introducing our rookies. Then we will pardon ourselves now. There's also a document which I want to finish during lunch time."

Kaichou got up and tried to leave.

"Kaichou. No Souna Sitri-san. I will be in your care from now."

"Y…yes! Please take care of us!"

"Yes, let's get along."

Kaichou replied and smiled at us.

"Rias, I will be looking forward to the Ball Tournament."

Kaichou said to Buchou with a smile, before she left the room.

"Yes, me too." Buchou smiled back. These two are really close. Kaichou then left the room with Saji in tow.

"Ichigo, Asia. Get along with Saji-kun. You will also meet the other members of the student council who are devils, but don't fight with them. Since we are all spending our school life at the same school. Okay?"

Buchou said to us while smiling.

"Yes!"

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

*BANG* *BANG*

The sound signaling the start of the Ball Tournament reverberated throughout the clubroom.

[Tsukmoto-kun of the "Manga research club", Hashioka-sensei is calling you. Can you please come to the teacher's room immediately.]

The PA which is placed throughout the school ground was making announcements endlessly. All of us got changed into our PE uniform and gathered at one place and were resting up till the start of the match. But the club matches were at the end. First of all, there were the class matches. I think my class is going to compete in baseball. Asia and I also have to participate.. After that there was a match amongst genders. Then, after lunch there were the matches between clubs. I did some light exercises as a warm up. Asia was stretching with the help of Akeno-san. Koneko-chan was sitting on the plastic mattress on the ground reading the rule book for ball …was still thinking about something. He had been staring at the sky since the beginning. Buchou went to check the sports for the club matches…. Oh she came back. Buchou, who just came back, was smiling fearlessly.

"Fufufu, we have won this match already."

"Buchou, so what is the sports we are playing then?"

"Dodgeball!"

I couldn't help the feeling of dread that sprouted in me.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Buchou-san, please do your best!" Asia cheered for Buchou from outside the fence. Buchou was playing tennis for the class matches and her opponent was...

"Kyaaaaaa! Kaichou-san!"

Yes, it was none other than the Seito-Kaichou, Sona Sitri-san.

"Ufufufu. It's wonderful that we can see a match between High-Class devils in a place like this." Akeno-san said from beside me.

"Is it really okay for them to so openly use their powers?" Especially Kaichou, after telling us not to disrupt regular school life, she just goes ahead and uses her powers in front of the students?

"Here I come, Souna!"

"Yes, come at me, Rias!"

They said such aggressive words and swung their rackets with all their might.

"Uoooooooh! Kaichouuuuuu! Please wiiiiiiin!" Oh yeah, Saji was at the opposite side of the fence and cheered wildly while swinging a giant flag that said 'Student Council' and the students around were slowly edging away from him.

"Take this! Sitri-style spin-ball!"

The ball Kaichou had just hit went rushing towards Buchou.

"You are too naïve! Take this Gremory-style counter!" Buchou tried to hit the ball back, but it stopped in front of her for an instant and swerved down instead.

"15-30." And as always, the students didn't notice a thing. It's amazing what the human mind is capable of ignoring.

"You are doing well Souna. To be expected from my rival."

"Ufufu. Rias, you haven't forgotten the promise where the loser has to pay for the udon with all the toppings at Kobashiya, have you?"

"No, I haven't. It will be my eternal shame if you taste that before me. That's why I will definitely win! Did you know that I have 108 styles of magic ball?"

"I will accept that challenge. I will hit back all the balls that come into my 'Sitri-Zone'."

...Seriously, they're fighting for something so mundane?

In the end, the match ended in a tie when both of their rackets broke.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Guooooh!?" That was my reaction when Asia walked into the clubroom after leaving for a while. Instead of the standard shorts, she was wearing bloomers. Asia wriggled while blushing.

"…Ummm…I heard from Kiryuu-san. That the proper uniform for dodge ball is bloomer… An-And also that Ichigo-san will be happy if I wore this…"

Kiryuu, you little...!? What the hell are you teaching Asia!?

"You don't like it?"

Asia asked me with a shy voice while looking up at me.

"Er..." Shit, how do I answer this? Thankfully, I was saved from answering by Buchou.

"Raise your spirits, you two." Despite the intense tennis match just now, Buchou doesn't look the least bit winded.

"Ah, Ichigo-san, how about you hand those out to everyone?" Oh yeah, I almost forgot about those. I made them last night while everyone was asleep, though Asia woke up halfway through.

"Here. Let's wear these during the match." I took out a bunch of headbands with 'Occult Research Club' embroidered on them.

"Ara, you're well prepared."

Buchou took one first.

"It's very well made. Ichigo is more skilled than I thought."

"Well, I had to take care of all the chores after my mother passed away, at least until Yuzu was old enough to do them herself." It's been a while since I've sewn something, so I was a bit rusty, but nothing a bit of practice couldn't fix.

"...It's well made." Koneko complimented me.

"Ara-ara. Certainly the other clubs are wearing an item to symbolise the team. Like uniforms and caps."

"Yeah, that's why I figured we should have something similar too."

Everyone took one and tied them around their foreheads.

"..." Yuuto was still busy daydreaming.

"Oi, here's one for you too."

"…Ye…yeah. Thanks."

"…Let's concentrate on winning for now."

"…Win, huh. Yeah… Winning is important."

Hm? Yuuto mumbled something as he tied the headband around his forehead.

[Members of the Occult Research Club and the Baseball Club, please report to the field immediately.]

It's time for our match. I suppressed the chill that ran down my spine at that moment.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Uoooooh! Kill Kurosaki and Kiba!"

"What the fu-!?"

The moment the match started, all of the players aimed for me and Yuuto. Well, I guess it's natural from their perspective.

Rias Gremory. One of the "Two Great Onee-sama". The really popular school idol. Can't aim for her.

Himejima Akeno. One of the "Two Great Oneesama". School idol. Can't aim for her.

Asia Argento. The number 1 bishoujo angel of the 11th grade. Can't aim for her.

Toujou Koneko. A cute girl who is our school mascot. You feel bad if you hit her.

Kiba Yuuto and Kurosaki Ichigo. Enemy of all male students. Even if you end up being hated by the girls, these two must be exterminated at all costs! Aim for them! Shoot them! Kill them! I can practically feel the hostility oozing out of them.

"Wait, what are you brutes doing to Kiba-kun and Kurosaki-kun!?"

"Die, you shitty Casanovas!" The female students were yelling at the male students who were yelling at us. I caught a ball aimed for me and threw it back, knocking one of the players out.

"All of the balls are aimed at Yuuto and Ichigo! This is a chance!"

"It's good that you're enjoying this, but could you please hurry up!?" I caught a ball aimed for me and dodged a dozen more, then threw it at the group of opponents charging at me, knocking several of them out at once.

"Shit, I don't care if I'm hated, die Casanova!" One burly opponent threw his ball at Yuuto, who still standing around in a daze.

"What the hell are you doing standing there!?" I caught the ball.

"...Ah, Ichigo."

"'Ah, Ichigo', my ass!" I threw it a bit too hard and...hit the opponent right in the crotch. I flinched when I heard a faint *CRACK*, signifying damage to the pelvis and the genitals. Ouch, shit, that's going to sting. He opened his mouth in a silent scream and fell to the ground writhing in pain.

"Nice shot, Ichigo! Let's keep up the pace!" Buchou praised me, seemingly oblivious to the poor guy rolling on the ground in pain.

"...Right..." He'll probably be fine after medical treatment.

Like this, we kept up our winning streak until the final match.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

*RAIN*

A huge downpour began shortly after the Ball Tournament was concluded. As expected, the Occult Research Club won first place in the club matches. Though, that was spoiled by the atmosphere right now in the clubroom.

*SLAP*

A bitter sound echoes with the rain outside. Buchou just slapped Yuuto.

"Well, have you come to your senses?"

While we won, Yuuto had pretty much done nothing. Sure, he threw a few balls, but he spent most of the time just aimlessly wandering around the field in a daze. Buchou yelled at him a few times, but he mostly ignored her. Pretty much anyone would've gotten pissed at him, including me. Even after getting slapped, he didn't make so much as a sound or even a change in expression. Okay, it's official, I'm starting to worry. This isn't like Yuuto at all. Then, he made his usual smiling face, though I could tell it was forced.

"Are you done now? The ball tournament has finished as well. We won't be practicing anymore so can I take a rest until it's night time? I'm a bit tired so I will take a break from the usual club activity. I'm sorry for my behavior this noon. Seems like I'm not feeling well today."

"Oi, Yuuto, you've been acting really weird lately."

"That's none of your business." I voiced my concern, but he just brushed it off with a cold tone.

"Even I'm starting to get worried."

"Worried? Who would get worried? I think it's normal for devils to live by how they want. Well, I think I'm at fault for not listening to my master this time."

"Of course I'd get worried. We're comrades, aren't we?"

"...Comrades..." Yuuto's face suddenly turned gloomy.

"...Yeah, comrades. Ichigo, you're always shining so brightly, so I lost sight of it for a while. But...I've started to recall the basics."

"Basics."

"Yeah, the reason why I'm fighting."

"Reason why...Isn't it for Buchou?"

Yuuto shook his head, and I saw the same hate-filled eyes from that time at my house. Ah, I was wondering why those eyes seemed so familiar. Those...are the eyes of someone seeking revenge. And...those were surely the same eyes I had when I finally met Grand Fisher again after 6 years.

"No, I'm living so that I can seek my revenge. Holy Sword Excalibur...Destroying it is the reason I'm living." Yuuto had an expression of cold determination. And for the first time, it seems that I've finally seen his real face.

* * *

(Yuuto's POV)

I was walking without using an umbrella when it was raining hard. I thought it was a good rain that could cool my head off.

I had a fight with Buchou.

I rebelled for the first time against my master who saved my life. It was a failure as 'Kiba Yuuto'. But I had never once forgotten my revenge towards the Holy Sword Excalibur. I was just getting senile with the lifestyle at school. I had made comrades, obtained a lifestyle, and received a name. I also received a purpose in life from my master, Rias Gremory. Asking for more happiness was a bad thing. It was certainly bad. I couldn't continue living for my "comrades" until I fulfilled my purpose…

*SPLASH*

I heard a sound of water that was different from the sound of rain. There was a priest in front of me. They have a cross hanging around their chest and give divine punishments in the name of the God who I so despise. He was one of the things I hate. The target of my hatred. I didn't mind killing him if he was an exorcist. That's what I thought.

…! There was a blood patch on his stomach and he was coughing some blood. He then fell down. Was he killed by someone? Who? An enemy?

"…!"

I instantly made a demonic-sword after I felt something abnormal. It was a killing intent!

*KACHIN*

There was a glow of metal under the rain that made a glimmer. When I moved my body towards the place where the killing intent was coming from, there was someone with a long sword attacking me. This guy had the same clothes as the priest that just died. So he was priest as well. But this one had an abnormal amount of killing intent.

"Yahooo. It's been a while."

I knew the boy priest who was making a weird smile. A crazy priest with white hair, Freed Zelzan. He's the guy we fought in the previous incident involving the fallen-angels. He was showing the same disgusting smile that ticked me off like always…

"…Seems like you're still in this town. What is your business today? I'm sorry, but I'm in a really bad mood today."

I said it with an angry tone but he laughed it off.

"Well that's good timing. Splendid! In my case I'm so happy that I'm going to shed some tears because I get to have a reunion with you!"

He still had a cocky speech. He really did get on my nerves. I already hated him since he was a priest to begin with. When I tried to make a demonic-sword in my left hand, the long sword he wielded started to emit a holy aura…! That light! That aura! That glow! How could I forget!

"I was getting bored of priest hunting so it's good timing. Very good. Let's see which is stronger between my Excalibur and your demonic sword, shall we? Hyahahahaha! I will repay you by killing you!"

Yes, the sword he was holding...It could only be Excalibur.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Holy Sword Project?"

Buchou nodded at my words.

"Yes. Yuuto is the sole survivor of that project."

Asia, Buchou and I returned to my apartment after we finished our club activities. Buchou, Asia and Restia came into my room, and Buchou had started to tell us about Yuuto's past.

"There was a project several years ago inside the Christian Church that aimed to make those who can wield the Holy Sword Excalibur."

"…This is my first time hearing this."

Asia didn't know about this project. Well, a secret project like this wouldn't reach the ears of the girl who was praised as the holy-maiden.

"Holy Swords are the ultimate weapons against devils. If we Devils touch a Holy Sword, then we will burn ourselves. If we get cut by it, then we will be terminated without a trace. It could be called the ultimate weapon for those who believe in God and see Devils as an enemy."

Holy Sword...In other words, swords like Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi, Arondight, Galantine and Caliburn.

"Even though there are numerous Holy Swords originating from all over the world, I still think the most famous one would be Excalibur. Even in Japan, it comes up in many books. It's a holy weapon that is created through means of magic and alchemy by those who reach the territory of God. But Holy Swords choose their own wielders. I hear that only one person in a decade or so is chosen."

"Yuuto is a Sacred Gear possessor that can create Demonic Swords, right? So isn't there a Sacred Gear that can create Holy Swords instead?"

It was my question. I made a simple conclusion that a Sacred Gear that can create Holy Swords exists because a Sacred Gear that creates Demonic Swords does.

"It's not like there isn't. But if you compare it to the Holy Swords that already exist, it is kind of lacking. Of course I'm not saying it's weak. Among them there is a sacred artifact included in the Longinus Gears, just like your Boosted Gear. The most famous is the Sacred Gear that was wielded by the person who killed Jesus Christ, True Longinus. It's also said that the name 'Longinus' was derived from it."

Longinus. It is a Sacred Gear that has the power to kill God. Like the one I possess in my left arm. So, there is a sacred utensil that is a Sacred Gear and is also a "Longinus". But to hear that the spear that killed Jesus-san was also a "Longinus"… I was discovering the mystery behind the history from out of nowhere. Talking to a high-class devil can be really shocking.

"Except, at this point there isn't a Holy Sword Sacred Gear that can compete with Excalibur, Durandal or Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi because these Holy Swords are too powerful. It's the same with the Demonic Swords. Yuuto received artificial treatment to adapt to the Holy Sword, particularly the Excalibur."

"So Yuuto can use Holy Swords?"

Buchou shook her head at my question.

"Yuuto couldn't adapt to the Holy Swords. Not only Yuuto, but it seems like everyone who received the same treatment couldn't either…"

So even Yuuto who was an expert swordsman and a Demonic Sword wielder couldn't adapt to Excalibur...

"The people of the Church decided to view the ones who couldn't adapt to the Holy Swords as defective products and disposed of them."

Dispose… What a disgusting choice of word. I can imagine what it means. Buchou's eyes changed because she also felt discomfort.

"Most of the people experimented on were killed including Yuuto. Only because they couldn't adapt to the Holy Swords…"

"…It can't be. It's not an acceptable act by those who serve God."

It seems like this was a big shock for Asia. Her eyes were covered with tears. It is normal to cry when something you believe in continues to betray you.

"As expected, humans really are disgusting creatures. Though they claim that Devils are evil, humans are more evil in the end." Restia shook her head as she listened.

"You sound like you've seen something similar."

"That's right. My previous wielder and a large number of boys were kidnapped by an organization seeking to revive my father. Though Kamito was found to be my father's reincarnation in the end, the rest of the boys were thrown aside like trash." So my predecessor went through something similar...

"When I reincarnated Yuuto into a devil, that boy swore his revenge even when he was in a critical situation. Because his talents were being used for Holy Swords since he was born, I wanted him to use his talents as a devil. Yuuto's talent at using swords would be a waste for only using it for Holy Swords."

Buchou saved Yuuto by turning him into a devil because he had a miserable life due to the Holy Swords. She wanted to tell him not to get so fixated on Holy Swords and use his powers as a devil. But, in the end, Yuuto...

"That boy couldn't forget about it. The Holy Swords. Those who were involved with the Holy Swords. And the people of the Church…"

The reason why he detests priests. The reason why he is obsessed with information regarding Holy Swords. He still couldn't forget about them. No, they played around with his life and killed him afterwards, it's not weird for him to hold a grudge. When my mother was killed, I held a strong grudge against Grand Fisher as well as myself. And it happened to him when he was younger than me so his hatred against them must be enormous. Buchou made a big sigh.

"Anyway I will just watch over him for now. Right now his head is full of the hatred he has towards Holy Swords. But I hope he returns to his usual self."

"Ah, about that. I think this photo was what caused him to act like this."

I showed the photo I took of that old photo. Yuuto said the sword in this photo is a Holy Sword. I think it was the trigger… Buchou's eyes changed as soon as she saw the photo.

"Ichigo, was your mother related to the Church?"

"...Well, she was a Quincy, but as far as I know, she wasn't a Christian. But, when I was a kid, there was a Christian family that moved away when I was 6."

So, there was one near you… No, there was a Holy Sword in the area about 10 years ago. It's so terrifying."

"Then is that sword really a Holy Sword?"

"Yes, it's one of the Holy Swords. It's not as powerful as the legendary Holy Swords I mentioned before, but it's the real thing. Then it must mean that this man is the wielder… Now I get it. I heard that my predecessor who was in charge of this area vanished and Karakura is only one stop away, it would make sense if this was the reason. But if I remember…"

Buchou mumbled to herself. Then, she stood up.

Let's go to sleep. Even if we think about it, it's not like Yuuto's behavior will go back to normal."

After saying that, Buchou started to strip her clothes!?

"Bu…Buchou! Why are you taking your clothes off here!?"

"Why? You also know that I can't sleep without being naked, Ichigo."

"No, no, no! Not that! I mean, why are you taking them off in my room!?"

"That's because I'm going to sleep with you."

Buchou answered me as if it was the obvious answer!

The moment I heard, I prepared to bolt, but then I heard the door lock. I turned my head and saw Restia holding the doorknob.

"Fufufu. No running away." Then, she started stripping too!

"Then I'm sleeping here as well! I'm also going to sleep with Ichigo-san!" Gah, not Asia too!?

"Hey, you two are being a bad influence on Asia, put your clothes back on!"

They narrowed their eyes at me.

"Bad influence? Those are some harsh words. You should already know I sleep naked, right? We've already slept together many times after all."

"...Slept together a number of times...? No...Ichigo-san, Buchou-san and Restia-san...?"

Asia trembled and started to get teary-eyed. Shit, what kind of situation is this!?

"Asia, Restia, hand Ichigo over for tonight."

"I don't want to... I think I have the right to be spoiled by Ichigo-san as well. I also want to sleep with Ichigo-san!"

"That's right, Ichigo is my master after all. The stronger our bond, the stronger the Vorpal Sword will become, that's why I should be sleeping with him."

Agh, why can't you three just sleep in separate rooms like normal people!?

"Then, let's have Ichigo decide." All three of them turned towards me. Buchou's eyes were practically screaming 'Choose me'!

"Ichigo-san, you'll sleep with me, right?" Asia asked with a shaky voice.

"Master, the choice is rather obvious, isn't it?" Restia wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered into my ear. It's obvious that if I choose one, the other two will hold a grudge against me. What should I do in this situation!?

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"...Sigh." I sighed heavily after drinking a glass of water. In the end, I had to choose all three of them. Though the bed was queen-sized, it was still hard to breathe considering all three of them were squeezing me in their sleep. Miraculously, I slipped out and went to the kitchen for a drink.

**[Something troubling you, partner?] **Oh, it's been a while, Ddraige. You've been pretty quiet for the past few days.

**[Well, there wasn't really anything to talk about, so...]**

"So, there's something to talk about now?"

**[Yeah, you could say that.]**

"...Well? What is it?"

**[...It's hard for me to use my full power when I've only recently awakened, but I finally regained full control yesterday, and since then, I've been feeling that guy's presence.]**

"That guy...?"

**[Yeah. The white guy.]**

"...You mean Albion?"

**[Yeah. The Vanishing Dragon. I've been feeling his current host's presence since yesterday.]**

"...Is he strong?"

**[Who knows. It's too far away for me to properly gauge his power. But...since I can sense from this far away, I'd say he's fairly strong.]**

"...Oh, geez. And I'm already having the problem with Yuuto."

**[The situation with Kiba Yuuto will probably be resolved eventually. Dragons, especially strong ones, tend to attract plenty of trouble. Sooner or later, you'll probably meet Excalibur's wielder.]**

**"**Have you ever encountered Excalibur before?"

**[Twice. Both times, my wielders used Juggernaut Drive to defeat Excalibur's wielder, but ended up dying afterwards.]**

"Juggernaut...Drive?"

**[Yeah. It's the pinnacle of a Sekiryuutei's and a Hakuryukou's power. It's the equivalent of your Mugetsu. But it drains its user's energy at an insane rate, and once that has been completely drained, it'll use their life force instead, which is why most of my wielders ended up dying.]**

"Hmmm...How long do you think I'll be able to last in it?"

**[At your full power, much longer than my previous wielders, but probably still not long enough to defeat any opponent strong enough to force you to use it. Assuming you don't go insane.]**

"Insane?"

**[Juggernaut Drive puts a massive strain on its user's sanity. Most of wielders went mad while using it.]**

"It's got way too many demerits..."

**[Yeah. That's why...Don't use it. Just master the rest of your powers and you'll be hard-pressed to find an opponent who can challenge you.]**

"Yeah. I don't have any intention of dying anytime soon."

**[Agreed. You're the most interesting host I've had so far, so let's try to live as long as we can.]**

Like that, the conversation between the Welsh Dragon and his host came to an end for that day.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

To disperse the power of a Dragon, in other words, to nullify it by having the power drained away by high level Devils. There are a couple of methods to do this, but the easiest and the most certain one is to take it out directly from that person. The way I am getting it done is…well, it's extremely embarrassin to say the least. The only high level Devils who can do this to me are Buchou and Akeno-san. Both of them take turns at taking out my Dragon power. Today is the day I get my Dragon power taken out and temporarily return my left arm back to its original appearance, and I am currently in a room on the second floor of the old school building, which is used by Akeno-san. It used to be a classroom, but now there is a tatami mat on the floor, and it looks like a traditional Japanese room. There are symbols around the room that look like spell runes and there are also magic articfacts in the room. I was waiting in the middle of the room while bare-chested. There's also a magic circle on the spot I was sitting. It's apparently a requirement for rituals, though I fail to see how this qualifies as a ritual. It's also required for some obscure reason that I be naked from the waist up for the ritual. The door opened and someone entered the room. The person who appeared was Akeno-san with a white cloth on. She had her usual ponytail untied as well. As usual, this situation is incredibly embarrassing for me, though Akeno-san seems to take pleasure in watching me squirm, being the sadist that she is. She smiled demurely and sat down in front of me in seiza position.

"The preparations are done. Now, we shall begin."

"Y-Yes!" I replied in a slightly high-pitched voice as I took in the sight in front of me. I don't if she's doing this on purpose, but because her body was wet and the cloth was sticking to her skin, making it see-through. I turned my head away. Why the hell isn't she wearing a bra!?

"Ara ara, what's wrong? You sound tense...Is there something wrong with my attire? It's wet because I poured water over myself for the ritual."

"C-C-Could you at least put on your underwear?"

"Ara ara, that's not possible. This white cloth is all I can wear for the ritual for maximum effectiveness." I didn't know that, but hey, she's the expert, not me. The smile on her face grew as she watched me squirm, damn sadist...

"Let's start. Ichigo-kun. Please hold up your left arm."

"Y-Yeah..." I did as she said. In order to disperse the power of a Dragon that had accumulated in my body...

"I must suck the Dragon's energy directly from Ichigo-kun's finger, pulling accumulated energy out of your left arm. If I do this, your arm will temporary revert back to its original state."

Yeah, the ritual is performed by sucking the Dragon's power directly from the body. In my case, Buchou and Akeno-san by sucking it out from my finger.

*CHUP*

While making an obscene wet sound, Akeno-san started sucking on my finger. Ugh, it's really a sensation I can't describe with words. Distract myself, distract myself, distract myself...Oh right, we still have to resolve Yuuto's problem. Excalibur, huh...? It's unlikely the Church would let such a legendary Holy Sword out of their sight, so it's probably in their hands. Most likely at the Vatican. There are a few ways to solve Yuuto's problem. The most obvious would be to have him fight Excalibur's wielder and win, but I doubt we would survive a trip to the Vatican. There are just too many priests there, and who knows how many other Holy Swords they have there? So the next best thing to do would be...

*LICK*

"Hiiii...!" When I felt Akeno-san lick my finger, I let out a high-pitched squeal. Then, her tongue swirled around my finger. Wait, what the fu-!? I swerved my head to look at her, and saw that she had an increasingly mischievous expression on her face. She released my finger from her mouth and a trail saliva dripped out, connecting my finger to the tip of her tongue.

"Ufufufu, if you make such a cute sound, I'll only feel like giving you more service."

"S-S-S-S-S-Service!?"

"Yes. I don't think it's a bad thing to spoil my kouhai." Then, she stuck my finger back into her mouth and drew closer to me. She wrapped her arms around me. I could smell a sweet fragrance coming from her.

"Wait wait wait wait, Akeno-san, what are you doing!?"

"I'm spoiling you of course. Despite acting like this, I do like you, you know?"

"M-Me?"

"At first, I thought of you as a cute kouhai, but then, I saw you fight and defeat Raiser Phenex. Despite being a Devil for such a short time, you gave your all for Buchou. There's no way I couldn't get aroused from that."

"A-A-A-A-Aroused!?"

"Ufufufu. Sometimes when I think about you, the area around my breast gets hot. And I can't help it. But when I try to make you enjoy something like this, I can't help but bully you… Is this love?"

If that's love, then it's a really, really twisted love.

"But if I lay my hands on you, Rias might get mad. That person...truly sees you as… Ufufu, you are a sinful man, Ichigo-kun."

I don't wanna hear that from you! And did she just call Buchou by her name? Now that I think about it, Akeno-san seems to have known Buchou the longest.

Then, she pressed herself on me.

"Do you want to have an affair with me?

"A-A-A-A-A-Affair!?" Behind whose back!?

"Ufufufu. I will keep quiet about what's going to happen now from Buchou and Asia-chan. Exciting, isn't it? A secret between us." I could practically feel the steam rising from my face.

"I also want to experience it at least once. To break the restraints of a younger boy and have him devour me. I'm also a bit of a masochist. I think it's about time that I have a man inside me now for once."

Must...kill...arousal...!

"Since I'm a virgin, I would be happy if Ichigo-kun were to take the lead."

"Er…I don't have any more experience than you do…"

Akeno seemed to be genuinely surprise when I told her that.

"Eh? That's a big surprise. I thought that you and Buchou had already…"

"No no no no, that's impossible. In the first place, why would Buchou want to do it with me!?"

"Ara ara. Is Buchou taking it slowly? Then, have you done it with Asia-chan?"

"That's even more impossible!"

"If it's Ichigo-kun, I thought that Buchou would have given you a big treat every night… This is certainly surprising. Don't you want to do it with either of them?"

"First of all, we're still in high school. While I won't deny that I find them attractive, I'm not going to do it on a whim!"

"Hmm…A bit dense. Well, that's fine too. I can't take your purity without her permission, so I'll just leave at this." I heaved a sigh of relief, for a moment, I thought I would lose my sanity.

*BAM*

The door swung open with a loud sound. I turned my head and saw Buchou standing in the doorway, staring at us with unpleased eyes.

"Akeno. What's the meaning of this?"

Buchou approached us with an angry voice. I gulped.

"Ufufu. I was just dispersing the power of the Dragon."

Akeno-san replied nonchalantly with a smile.

"…Is that so? But no matter how you look at it…weren't you trying to do something beyond that?"

"Ara ara. I wasn't thinking of doing it."

"Even if you weren't, there is a limit. Even I haven't…"

"Isn't that because you are taking it slow? It might be good reading a book about it, but it won't go as smoothly as in the manual."

"…"

"…"

They weren't glaring, but there was definitely a strong tension between the two of them. Then, Buchou turned to me and pinched my cheeks. Ow, what the…!?

"Ichigo, you looked like you were having fun. Were you enjoying Akeno's affection?"

"Nuo…I...wwoon…" I couldn't speak properly because she was still pinching my cheeks. How the hell did she jump to that conclusion? In what way did I look like I was enjoying any moment of that!?

"Then just do whatever you want!" She stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. Geez, what's with her all of a sudden?

"Jealousy? She sure is cute. Ufufufu. Ichigo-kun. It seems like you are making progress in your relationship." Once again, I had no idea what she was talking about. Jealous? Of what?

…Though I'll never admit this to anyone, I thought that Buchou was cute when she's angry.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

Asia and I were on our way home after we finished school and club activities. Usually Buchou would be with us, but today she wasn't. It seems like the incident with Akeno-san was the cause.

"Buchou aren't you going home?"

"I will be going home afterwards. Go home without me."

…Was what she said with a slightly hostile tone. She didn't even look at me when I asked.

"Isn't Buchou-san coming home with us?"

"No…Looks like I made her really angry…"

"…Did you do something?"

Asia asked me with a worried face, but I couldn't tell her about the incident with Akeno-san here. It would get even more complicated.

"No, but it's my fault. I will apologise to her afterwards. Asia, you don't have to worry about it."

"…I understand. But it might be my fault. Lately, I have been talking back to Buchou-san…"

It's true that Buchou and Asia have been arguing a lot lately, but the cause this time was definitely Akeno-san and I.

"No, I don't think it has anything to do with you, so don't worry about it." Well, I honestly don't know why Buchou is so mad. Girls really are hard to understand.

When we reached the apartment building, I paused and felt a chill run down my spine. At the same time, Asia grabbed my hand and squeezed. Looks like she felt it too. This unpleasant feeling is…holy power? And it's coming from…our apartment!?

[See, partner? I told you Excalibur would arrive sooner or later.]

"Ddraige, so this feeling is…"

[No doubt about it. It's Excalibur.]

Shit, Restia's still in the apartment!

"Asia, stay here!" After saying that, I ran up to my apartment door, summoning Zangetsu and Boosted Gear along the way, and kicked it in. The door swung open with a loud bang, and I saw Restia with a torn dress and black lightning in her hands. Standing across from her were two girls in black bodysuits, one with blue hair and strands of green holding a broadsword and another with brown hair tied into twintails holding a katana. Both of them had a few scratches here and there, but were perfectly fine. Both swords were giving off a strong holy aura. So the broadsword is probably Excalibur and the katana must be a Japanese Holy Sword.

"Rikujokoro!" Six staves of light appeared and bound the blue-haired girl. As the other turned towards me, I did the same to her. I stepped in front of Restia and pointed Zangetsu at them.

"Restia, you ok?"

"Yes, but I'm a bit tired, so I'm going to rest for a while. Ichigo, I'll leave the rest to you."

"Yeah, go to sleep for a while." I patted her head as she turned in to her sword form to conserve her power.

"Now then…" I turned my attention back to the two girls.

"Who are you two and how did you get into my apartment?"

"Is that any way to greet your childhood friend, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun?" The brown-haired girl smiled at me.

"Childhood friend?"

…Nope, don't recognise her at all.

"Sorry, but unless you're someone I've met more than once in the last 2 years, it's highly unlikely I remember you. I suck at remembering people from long ago." Though, the brown hair and violet eyes do look kinda familiar, where have I seen them before?

"Well, I guess it can't be helped, it's been more than a decade since we last met. Though, could you please release this spell? It's starting to get a bit uncomfortable."

"Can I trust you not to attack?"

"Yes, I won't attack an old friend unless they give me reason to."

"…" I undid the Bakudos and the staves disappeared. The two of them rubbed their wrists where one stave had struck.

"That's much better. Back to what we were saying, do you remember a friend of yours who moved away before first grade?"

I froze. No, it can't be…

I reached for my phone and looked at the photo of the Holy Sword. In the foreground was me and a brown-haired, violet-eyed boy. Brown hair, violet eyes. Wait, this is a girl!?

"Oh, did you get confused because you thought I was a boy? It can't be helped since I was a troublemaker just like the boys. But it seems like we both have changed in the time we haven't see each other. Really, you can't tell what can happen in a reunion. Nice to see you again after such a long time, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun. I'm Shidou Irina. "

Her words had a deeper meaning. She knows that I'm a Devil.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"I'm glad both of you are safe."

Buchou hugged Asia and I. Shidou Irina and the blue-haired girl left after explaining that she came back to Japan for an important job, but decided to drop by Karakura to visit me, her childhood friend. But when she got there, she learned from dad that I had moved here. Dad gave her the address so that she could visit me. That shitty old man, there's no way he couldn't have noticed the holy auras coming from those swords. He gave her my address despite knowing that. I'm going to kick his ass the next time I see him. Asia came in after they left, and shortly after, Buchou rushed in with a pale face. It seems that she sensed the powerful holy aura coming from our apartment and rushed here fearing the worst.

"After the club activity I was called in by Sona and she told me about people related to the Church intruding the town. And I also heard that they have a Holy Sword with them. Then when I was coming home, I sensed a powerful holy presence leaving the apartment. I really thought you two were dead. If I had to bid farewell to you after we had an argument, then I would have regretted it till death. I'm sorry. I should have treated you two with more importance…"

"Buchou-san. I'm also sorry for talking back to you. I thought that Buchou-san would take Ichigo-san away from me… I thought that I couldn't win…"

Asia apologised. Buchou smiled and patted Asia's head.

"It's okay."

"Um…Buchou, I'm also very sorry. Even though I have no idea what I did…" I muttered the last part so that she couldn't hear me.

"No, that was my fault. Akeno told me what really happened. It's my own fault for misunderstanding and not picking up the pace…" Pick up the pace…? For what?

Buchou finally let go of us and calmed herself down with a few deep breaths.

"According to Sona, who had met those two at noon, they want to negotiate with me, the Devil Rias Gremory, who has this town as her territory."

"The people from the Church want to negotiate with a Devil?" That was shocking. The Church and Devils were natural enemies, it's weird that they suddenly want to negotiate with us.

"Then is it a pact? Or a request?"

"…I'm not sure what they are planning, but they are planning to come to the club room after school tomorrow. They apparently promised God that they won't attack us."

"Can you believe them?"

"We have to. We have to believe in their belief since they are the believers of God and they are coming to request something from devils, when we are supposed to be evil beings to them. They seem to be under pressure and it's certain that it's trouble. I have a bad feeling about this… From their story, the priests that come to this town keep getting killed."

That's pretty bad. If the people from the Church, who have an almost fanatic hatred of us, are willing to negotiate, then something bad must be happening.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The next day after school, we, the members of Gremory group, were gathered in the club room. On the sofa, Buchou with Akeno-san and our two guests were sitting. The other members of our group, including Restia, who decided to join in, were sitting in the corner of the room listening to their conversation. Ever since those two came to the club room, our instincts were screaming at us that these two were dangerous. Buchou and Akeno-san were talking to them with a serious face. But the most dangerous one was Yuuto. He was glaring at them grudgingly. He looked as if he was about to go slashing at them any moment. They were the believers of God that Yuuto hates, and worse, they had Excalibur with them. If you knew his past, then you would know that he was brimming with hatred now. Under this atmosphere, the first one to talk was Shidou Irina.

"Recently the Holy Swords Excaliburs that were kept by the Catholic Church Headquarter Vatican, Protestant Church, and Eastern Orthodox Church were stolen."

...Wait, what!?

"I'm sorry? Excalibur was stolen from 3 different locations at once? How is that possible? And didn't you have Excalibur when you were at my apartment yesterday?"

Shidou Irina and the blue-haired girl looked at me in surprise.

"Ara, Ichigo-kun, you didn't know?"

"Sorry, he only recently became a Devil, so he doesn't know about this yet." Buchou said. Shidou Irina nodded and turned back to me.

"Ichigo-kun, the original Excalibur was destroyed during the first Great War between the Three Factions."

...What? The legendary sword...was destroyed...? Oi, Ddraige, you didn't mention anything about this.

_**[Sorry, partner. It slipped my mind.] **_

Ddraige's apologetic voice resounded in my head.

"Now, it looks like this." The blue-haired girl held up her weapon and removed the cloth around it, revealing a black broadsword with an axe-like cross guard, the same sword from yesterday. The moment I looked at it, my instincts started screaming for me to run away, that this sword was lethal to me.

"Excalibur was shattered into 7 fragments during the Great War. They were collected and forged into 7 new swords using alchemy. This is one of those 7 swords."

So, it's not the original, but a shell that holds a seventh of the original's power...

"The one I'm holding is Excalibur Destruction. The Catholic Church is in possession of it." She wrapped the sword back up. Now that I'm looking closely, there are many intricate symbols on the cloth. A sealing cloth? Is the power of Excalibur Destruction that uncontrollable? Then, Shidou Irina took out what looked like a piece of rope, which started moving on its own. Then, it's rope form seemed to lose its shape and reformed itself into a katana. This...is the same katana from yesterday.

"Mine is Excalibur Mimic. I can change its shape into anything I want so it's convenient for me to carry it around. Just like this, each Excalibur has its unique ability. This one is in the possession of the Protestant Church." She proclaimed proudly. Even though I've seen worse things, my Devil's body couldn't help but tremble ever so slightly in front of this powerful holy aura.

"Irina… There's no reason to tell these Devils the ability of Excalibur, is there?"

"Ara Xenovia. Even if they are Devils, we still have to form a trustworthy relationship with them in this situation. Also, even if my sword's ability is revealed, I won't fall behind all the devils here." She's pretty confident in her ability. Then, I felt a strong malice next to me.

It's Yuuto. He's glaring murderously at the two swords. He probably never dreamed that he would encounter Excalibur in such a place.

"...So what do the stolen Excaliburs have to do with this country located in the far east of the World?"

Buchou continued without a pause. As expected of Buchou, she didn't lose her composure even in the face of two legendary Holy Swords.

"The Catholic Church was in possession of two Excaliburs including mine. The Protestant Church also had two. The Eastern Orthodox Church had two as well. The last one went missing in the Great War. One Excalibur was stolen from each Church. The ones who stole them escaped to Japan and brought them to this town." The blue-haired girl...Xenovia said.

...Wow, Ddraige wasn't kidding when he said I was now a trouble magnet. Buchou placed her hand on her forehead and sighed.

"It seems that a lot of incidents have been happening in my territory lately. So, who are the culprits."

"The thieves are members of Grigori."

Buchou was startled at that. It couldn't be helped. The thieves are the leaders of the Fallen Angels?

"The Holy Swords were taken by the Fallen Angel organization? That's almost unbelievable. But certainly, the first suspects that one would think of would be the Fallen Angels. The Devils in the upper echelons aren't interested in the Holy Swords after all."

"We know the main culprit who stole the Excaliburs. One of the leaders of Grigori, Kokabiel."

"Kokabiel… One of the leaders of the Fallen Angels that survived the many wars since ancient times… I never expected to hear the name of the one that appears in the Bible. That's even more troublesome. The warmongering Fallen Angel is the one who stole the Excaliburs. What could his motive be?"

"We sent exorcists to this town secretly but they kept getting killed." Seriously? That many deaths and this is the first time we're hearing of it? Did they come here to request for our help then? No, that seems highly unlikely, considering how much the Church hates us...

"Our request… No. Our order is to not to have any Devils intrude on the battle between us and the Fallen Angels for the Excaliburs. In other words, we came here to tell you to stay out of this incident."

Buchou's eyes narrowed after Xenovia's tone.

"Such a manner of speech. Is it that restraint? Are you thinking that we might collaborate with those fallen-angels? That perhaps that we might team up with them to do something with Excalibur?"

"Our higher ups think that it might not be impossible."

A frosty gleam entered Buchou's eyes. I could understand. An enemy enters her territory unannounced, then arrogantly orders her to stay out of something happening in her territory and that they wouldn't forgive us if we formed an alliance with the Fallen Angels. Speaking like they were above us, there's no way Buchou's pride would allow it. I personally thought she was showing impressive restraint. Had it been someone like Byakuya or jii-san, they would have killed them on the spot. Hell, I would probably do the same.

"The higher-ups don't trust Devils and Fallen Angels. Their exact word were 'If the Holy Swords are taken away from God's side then the devils would also be happy right? The fallen-angels would also profit from it. For those reasons it won't be weird for them to form an alliance. That's why we are giving you a warning. If you form an alliance with the Fallen Angel Kokabiel, then we will eliminate you all. Even if you're the little sister of the Maou', by our boss."

Xenovia said casually while ignoring Buchou's anger.

"…If you know that I am the sister of a Maou, then it means that you have strong connections with the higher-ups in the Church. Then I will say it. We will not form an alliance with the fallen-angels. Never. In the name of the Gremory Clan, I will not do something that would tarnish the name of our Maou!"

The atmosphere became extremely tense and it looked like a fight could break out at any time. But Xenovia laughed.

"Fu... Hearing that is good enough. I had to warn you just in case Kokabiel is hiding himself in this town along with the three Excaliburs. If something were to happen, I would be the one blamed by the bunch in the Church headquarters. Well, we won't ask for cooperation. If you were to form an alliance with God's side temporally, then it would affect the balance of the Three Factions. Especially if it's the little sister of a Maou."

After hearing that, Buchou relaxed and took a deep breath.

"So, where is the person the Orthodox Church dispatched?"

"That person is on hold. They plan to protect the last Excalibur fragment should Irina and I fail."

"So it's just the two of you? You are going to retrieve the Excaliburs from a leader of the Fallen Angel with just the two of you? How reckless. Are you trying to get yourselves killed?"

Buchou said it with an amazed voice. But Shidou Irina and Xenovia said it with a straight face,

"Yes."

"I feel the same as Irina, but if it's possible I don't want to die."

"…You came here to Japan prepared to die? The belief in your teaching is extreme as always."

"Don't speak ill of our beliefs, Rias Gremory. Right, Xenovia?"

"That's right. Also, the Church decided that it would be better to eliminate all of the Excaliburs rather than letting them get used by the Fallen Angels. Our minimum objective is to get the Excaliburs away from the fallen-angels. To accomplish that, it's okay for us to die. The only way to fight against the Excaliburs are other Excaliburs."

...What an insane level of belief. That kind of devotion is something I find hard to understand.

"Is it possible with only the two of you?"

"Well, we won't die in vain."

Xenovia smiled fearlessly at Buchou's question.

"You seem confident. Do you have a secret weapon?"

"Maybe. I will leave it to your imagination."

"…"

"…"

The conversation ended and the two of them just stared at each other. Then, Shidou Irina and Xenovia looked at each other and stood up.

"Then we will take our leave now. Let's go Irina."

"So you won't drink your tea? I can prepare a snack for you."

"I don't need it."

Xenovia declined Buchou's offer.

"I'm sorry. See you."

Shidou Irina also declined. They started to leave, but happened to look in Asia's direction.

"...Oh? Could you be the 'Witch', Asia Argento? I didn't expect to meet you in a place like this."

Asia started trembling. She went through hard times after being branded a 'witch', so that word must bring some painful memories for her. Shidou Irina seemed like she noticed as well and stared at Asia.

"Are you the rumored 'witch'? The former holy-maiden? You are said to have the power that can also heal Devils and Fallen Angels, right? I heard that you were sent somewhere after getting exiled, but I never thought you became a Devil."

"…Ummmmm…I…I…"

Asia didn't know how to react to their words.

"It's okay. I won't tell the higher ups what I saw here, so rest assured. People who were around the 'Holy Maiden Asia' will be shocked as well."

"…"

Asia made a perplexed expression at Shidou Irina's words.

"But to become a Devil...The one who was called a 'Holy Maiden', you've fallen to the lowest level you could. Do you still believe in our God?"

"Xenovia. There's no way that she, who became a Devil, still believes in God."

Shidou Irina said it with an amazed face.

"No, I can smell the 'belief' from her. It might be an abstract way of saying it, but I'm sensitive to these things. There are people who betray the teachings and still have guilt within them because they couldn't forget the teachings. I can feel something similar coming from her."

Xenovia said it with sharp eyes and Shidou Irina stared at Asia even more with interested eyes.

"Is that true? Asia-san, you still believe in God even if you have turned into a Devil?"

"...I cannot just forget about it. Because I've believed in it my entire life..."

Hearing that, Xenovia unwrapped Excalibur Destruction from its sealing cloth and pointed it at Asia.

"Is that so? Then, you should be cut down by us this instant. If it's now, I can cut you in the name of God. Even if you have sin, our God will forgive you." I immediately stepped in and grabbed Xenovia's arm.

"Hey, I definitely can't let that go. You just called Asia a 'witch', didn't you?"

"That's right. At the very least, right now she is a being that should be called a 'witch'."

You arrogant little...!

"Someone like you who has no idea the hardships Asia had to go through has no right to criticize her. That God of yours didn't do anything when she needed help most."

"God loved her. If nothing happened, it just means that her belief wasn't strong enough, or it was false from the start."

"Oh? That God of yours is pretty arrogant, isn't he? Granting protection to those who suck up to him and ignoring those who truly believe in him."

Xenovia's eyes narrowed.

"I can't forgive any insults to our God. Heathens like you need to be cut down."

"Words are meaningless, prove it with your sword." I materialized Zangetsu and pointed the tip at her face.

"Ichigo, wai-" Buchou stood up in a panic and tried to stop me, but...

"Good timing. I'll be your opponent too." Yuuto created a sword and a cold murderous intent filled the room.

"Who are you?"

Yuuto smirked at Xenovia's question.

"I'm your senpai. Though I was apparently a failure."

In that instant, countless Demonic Swords appeared in the clubroom.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

...While I said all of that, I didn't think it would really go this far. Yuuto and I stood on one end of the field behind the old school building, and Xenovia and Shidou Irina were standing on the other end. Around the field, a multi-layered red barrier had been set up. Everyone else was watching from outside the barrier.

"...So? Why are you here too?" I asked Restia, who was standing next to me.

"Ara, these two attacked me out of the blue yesterday. I'm not one who can easily let go of my grudges, so I would like to teach those two a lesson too."

"...Whatever, let's go. Delicate queen of immaculate darkness, piercing the truth of the world, join hands with me and become my blade!" The moment I finished the incantation, Restia was enveloped in black energy that formed a sword in my left hand. The ominous Vorpal Sword formed completely in my left hand and released a powerful demonic aura, dwarfing even the combined holy aura from the two Excaliburs. Xenovia and Shidou Irina took a step back.

"It can't be...a Demonic Sword!? One that's stronger than even our Excaliburs!?"

"The Vorpal Sword's title, 'The Strongest Demonic Sword', isn't just for show, you know?"

"Vorpal Sword...From the Lewis Carroll poem? I didn't the actual sword really existed..." Xenovia muttered. Well, I don't think they're exactly the same sword though. Xenovia and Shidou Irina took out their Excaliburs and threw off their white cloaks, revealing the same black bodysuits from yesterday, though they were now fixed and didn't have a scratch on them. Well, that's going to change soon.

"Irina, I'll leave your childhood friend to you. Heathens like him should be cut down last, plus I'm interested in the power of our so-called 'senpai'. Well, I won't complain if you defeat him first though." Xenovia told Shidou Irina and face Yuuto who had activated his Sacred Gear and created a number of Demonic Swords. Then, a disturbing sound resounded throughout the field. It was a cold, demented laughter.

"...Are you laughing?"

Yuuto was hunched over as he continued to laugh.

"Yeah. The thing I wanted to defeat and destroy appeared right in front of me. I'm happy. Fufufu, I had even heard that by being close to a devil and a dragon, strange occurrences were a certainty, but I didn't think I would find it so soon."

"…Sword Birth? The possessor can create any Demonic Sword they imagine in their head. It's unique among the Demonic Sword-related Sacred Gears… I heard that there was a subject that didn't die from the Holy Sword Project… Was that you?"

Yuuto didn't answer her, he simply aimed his murderous intent towards her and got into a stance.

"Kurosaki Ichigo-kun."

Shidou Irina stood in front of me. My childhood friend I hadn't seen since we were 6. I thought she was a boy at first, but she turned out to be a girl. This is embarrassing. I always thought I was a pretty sharp person, but mistaking someone's gender is just stupid.

"...I was honestly shocked. To meet my childhood friend I hadn't seen in 11 years and find that he had become a Devil." She slumped, seemingly depressed.

"Shidou Irina...That's a mouthful, so mind if I just call you Irina? Do you really want to do this? My quarrel isn't with you, it's with your friend over there, so could you just step aside?"

Irina didn't say anything, she just looked up with a sad face and I think I could see a tear rolling down her cheek.

"It's a pity, Kurosaki Ichigo-kun. No, I'll call you Ichigo-kun in light of our former friendship. What a cruel twist of fate! I went to England because I found out that I can use Holy Swords, and I thought that I could be a representative of God! Aaah, this also must be a trial that God has given me! The land that I haven't been back in for so long! A harsh destiny where my childhood friend has turned into a Devil! The way time moves is harsh! But by moving forward, I will gain true belief in God! Now Ichigo-kun! I will pass judgment onto you with this Excalibur! Amen!"

...Wait, she suddenly seems eager to cut me! Is she bipolar!? Or just a battle maniac!? I sighed, neither seemed very appealing.

"Boosted Gear."

[Boost!] A red gauntlet appeared on my left forearm in a flash of red light, and my power doubled.

"...Longinus..."

"Is that Boosted Gear? I didn't think I would meet the host of the Welsh Dragon in this country located in the far east..." Both of them seemed surprised to see my gauntlet. Natural, I guess, it's a one of a kind, God-slaying weapon that is threat to their beloved lord.

"You'll get hurt if you focus all your attention on Ichigo!"

*CLANG*

Yuuto slashed at Xenovia, who blocked it with Excalibur Destruction. Xenovia smirked.

"Boosted Gear, Sword Birth and Twilight Healing. All three are a heretical existence to us. I suppose it was only natural that you three would become Devils."

"My power is the power crafted by the hatred and resentment of my comrades, who were killed while filled with regret! I'll destroy them! I'll destroy those Excaliburs if it's the last thing I do!"

He's starting to say something pretty dangerous. So Yuuto isn't just seeking revenge for himself, but also for his friends who were killed in the Holy Sword Project.

"Here I come, Ichigo-kun!" While I was distracted by Yuuto and Xenovia's battle, Irina swung Excalibur Mimic at my head.

"Ack...!" I quickly raised Zangetsu to block it and awkwardly swung the Vorpal Sword in my left hand at Irina. She turned Excalibur Mimic to block it while still blocking Zangetsu.

"_...Tch." _I heard Restia click her tongue in my head.

"_Something wrong?"_

"_I hate holy power. To me, getting hit by holy power is like being struck by a thousand bolts of lightning, which is why I usually try to avoid it. More importantly, what was with that weak swing!?"_

"_Sorry, this is the first time I've ever fought with two swords, so it's pretty awkward for me."_

"_Sigh. You can't use two-swords style with your right arm stronger than your left arm. You'll have to train your left arm as well until it's as strong as your right. For now, I'll guide you as best as I can. She's backing up for another attack. By the angle at which she's holding her sword, she's must be aiming for an overhead strike. Use me to block it and strike her with Zangetsu." _Just as Restia predicted, Irina raised her katana above her head and slashed downwards. Doing as Restia told me, I raised the Vorpal Sword and blocked it and swung Zangetsu at her side, making sure to hit her with the flat side. No point starting a war between the Church and the Devils over a spar. The impact sent her careening through the air and landing painfully on the ground.

"Freeze and burn! Flare Brand and Freeze Mist!" Yuuto swung a sword coated in flames and a sword with a cold mist forming around it at Xenovia with high speed, but she just evaded every attack with minimum movements.

"The 'Knight's swift movements and fire and ice Demonic Sword. But, you're naïve!" Xenovia swung Excalibur Destruction at Yuuto, who blocked with both swords. But, the moment the two swords came into contact with Excalibur Destruction, both were turned to dust.

"...!" Yuuto was rendered speechless at the almost contemptuous ease that Xenovia had destroyed his swords with. Yuuto's Demonic Swords are durable enough to withstand a strike from Zangetsu! What kind of crazy destructive power does Excalibur Destruction have!?

"This sword is a huge mass of destructive energy. There's nothing it cannot destroy." Xenovia swung Excalibur Destruction down.

*BOOM*

A huge explosion occurred at the spot where Xenovia had swung her sword down, kicking up smoke and huge piles of dirt and causing the ground to shake. I regained my balance after stumbling a bit.

When the smoke cleared, Xenovia was now standing in the middle of a huge crater.

...How the hell are we going to cover this up?

This is my Excalibur. It can destroy anything that comes its way. It's not an Excalibur for nothing."

...Absurd. Its destructive power is on par with my Getsuga! Even Yuuto's prized Demonic Swords would be destroyed instantly by that kind of power. Yuuto grimaced after seeing that.

"…Such destructive power when it isn't a real Excalibur. So destroying all 7 swords will be a difficult goal."

...He's serious. His eyes were still colored with absolute hatred. He didn't want to stop at one, he wanted to destroy all 7! Just one will be hard enough for him, but seven is almost impossible...

"Geez! I'm all covered in dirt because you destroyed the ground, Xenovia!"

Irina got up after being knocked down by the tremor. She complained while wiping the dirt off her bodysuit.

"But! It's about time to settle this now!" She rushed at me again. This time, I could fluidly move the Vorpal Sword to block the attack. Yes, it's starting to get easier. Even though my left arm isn't as strong as my right, I can make up for the difference by using Blut Arterie in my left arm. Attacking with my left arm is still a bit far off, but I could now defend without any problem and my movements were starting to become more natural rather than stiff like they were when I was just following Restia's instructions a while ago.

There. That's my opening. Irina swung her katana from the side, but instead of blocking, I turned and avoided the strike and was right next to her. I swung the hilt of the Vorpal Sword and hit her wrist, causing to let go of Excalibur Mimic. Then, I dropped and caught Zangetsu in a reverse grip and hit her in the gut with the hilt. She was knocked backwards.

"Kyaa!" She let out a short scream of surprise and pain and lost consciousness as her head hit the ground.

"Haaaaaaa!" Yuuto let out a battle cry filled with anger and created a gigantic sword in his hands. It was huge, too huge, there's no way he could swing it properly. He lost his cool and made a bad call.

"It's a shame. You made the wrong decision."

*CRACK*

A large metal fragment flew into the air. Obviously, it was Yuuto's sword. Xenovia's Excalibur Destruction easily destroyed Yuuto's Demonic Sword.

"Your weapon is the variety of the swords you can create and your speed. You need a lot of strength to swing a gigantic sword like that, and you will sacrifice the speed that you are proud of. Did you want more power? From your fighting style, it's something unnecessary. Don't you even know that?" Xenovia slammed the hilt of her sword into Yuuto's gut, just like I had done to Irina. A shockwave shook the ground slightly.

"Gaha!" Yuuto fell to ground while vomiting blood.

"It's not a direct hit from the blade, but this will keep you from moving for a while." Xenovia glared down at Yuuto, then turned and walked towards me with Excalibur Destruction raised.

"W-Wait...!" Yuuto tried to reach his hand out, but he couldn't move at all.

"Don't be a sore loser. You lost fair and square to me. Just lie there as I cut down this heathen." She didn't even bother looking back at him.

"You sound pretty confident. I won't be defeated so easily."

"Is that so?" She rushed at me and swung Excalibur Destruction down. I blocked with Zangetsu this time. The holy aura of Excalibur Mimic was already enough to inconvenience Restia. Who knows what an Excalibur specialized for Destruction would do to her. The moment our swords clashed, another crater opened up beneath us.

"Ho? That's a good sword. It didn't break even after being hit by my Excalibur."

"Zangetsu isn't such a flimsy sword that it would break from one strike of your sword. More importantly, you just made a mistake."

"...What?"

"You...should never have tried to fight me up close. Getsuga Tensho!" I held back as much power as I could so that she wouldn't get killed.

"Wha-!?" The blast knocked her down to the ground and Excalibur Destruction was sent flying, having taken the brunt of the attack. She tried to get up and retrieve her sword, but I pointed Zangetsu at her throat as she tried to move.

"You lose." The barrier around the field fell and the other club members walked towards us.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

The spar had ended in my victory and Asia was healing Yuuto, who taken the most damage in the fight. Xenovia and Irina were fine, just exhausted. I made sure to hold back as much as I could to avoid injuring them too badly.

"Tch. Though I'm unhappy about it, you won the battle fairly. I have no choice but to apologize." Xenovia bowed her head in apology towards Asia after complaining about losing to me. Though there wasn't any sincerity, it was better than nothing. At the very least, Asia didn't seem to mind that she wasn't sincerely apologizing.

"Well then, we'll be taking our leave. Rias Gremory, I hope you'll keep our talk in mind. Oh, and Senpai, I hope you can keep your cool the next time we fight."

Yuuto glared at her hatefully while grimacing at the fading pain in his stomach. Then, Xenovia turned back to me.

"One more thing. The Vanishing Dragon is awake."

...! So she's seen the Vanishing Dragon. That confirms that the Hakuryuukou was definitely awake.

"Is he strong?"

"Unfortunately. If I fought him, there would be no way for me to win even with Excalibur Destruction. Worse, he's allied with the Fallen Angels."

"What!? Then, is he involved in-!?"

"The theft of the Excalibur fragments? No, if it were him, he wouldn't have needed to stop at just 3 Excaliburs. He could have stolen all 6 without a problem. Plus, he's more allied to Azazel rather than the Grigori as a whole."

...I see. At the very least, I won't have to fight him yet. That's good. Kokabiel is supposedly on par with a Maou, who's as strong as a high level Captain. I really don't feel like taking them both on at the same time.

"Well then, if there's nothing else." Xenovia walked away. Irina turned to me and winked.

"Ichigo-kun, if you ever want to be judged, just come and find me!" She left right after. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then...

"Hold on! Yuuto!"

I heard Buchou's voice. When I looked, Yuuto was trying to leave and an angry Buchou was trying to stop him.

"I won't forgive you if you leave me! You are the 'Knight' of the Gremory group. I will also be troubled if you become an exile! Stop this instant!"

"…I was able to escape thanks to my comrades. That's why I have to put their regrets into my Demonic Swords…"

After saying that, Yuuto left.

"Yuuto…Why…?"

I couldn't look at Buchou's sad face. Maybe I should give him a good punch, that usually worked for me.

...No, we need a more permanent solution. And I have one in mind.

* * *

(Ichigo's POV)

"Ano...Why did you call me out?" The next day happened to be a Saturday. I was supposed to go back to Karakura, but I decided this couldn't wait. I'll make it up to Yuzu another time. I called the 'Pawn' of the Student Council, Saji Genshirou, to meet me at the train station.

"...He's right. What are you two up to?" The question came from the one who was standing on my right. I happened to run into Koneko while coming here. I tried to make an excuse to get past her, but she saw right through my lie and insisted on following me. When I tried to slip away, she grabbed my sleeve and refused to let go. I didn't feel like explaining a ripped uniform to Buchou or risk Koneko reporting me to Buchou, so I gave up and brought her along. On my left was Restia, who decided to tag along.

"Oh, doing something behind Rias Gremory's back. Sounds like fun." Were her exact words.

I decided to let them have it.

"I'm going to ask Shidou Irina and Xenovia to let us destroy Excalibur." Not just Saji, even the normally stoic Koneko was shocked. Though, Restia was smiling mysteriously as though she already knew what I was up to.

* * *

And...done. I was going to continue until the end of volume 3, but I've left you guys hanging for too long, so I'll finish up volume 3 next chapter. Ichigo VS Kokabiel! Look forward to it!

I didn't like this chapter very much due to lack of real action, but that will come in spades next chapter.

Also, for those who didn't read the author's note at the end of the latest chapter of Infinite Dragon Emperor, I've put up a few new story ideas on my profile, so check them out and tell me what you think.

Next chapter is the conclusion to the Excalibur arc, followed by a short story taking place in Karakura.

That's all. Please read and review.


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